LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


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RARE  DAYS  IN  JAPAN 


'  Yes !  'tis  a  very  pleasant  land, 
Filled  with  joys  on  either  hand, 
Sweeter  than  aught  beneath  the  sky, 
Dear  island  of  the  dragon-fly!  " 

[From  an  old  poem  composed  by  the  Mikado  Gomei, 
who  died  A.  D.  641.] 


RARE  DAYS  IN 
JAPAN 


BY 

GEORGE  TRUMBULL  LADD,  LL.  D. 

AUTHOR  OF  "!N  KOREA  WITH  MARQUIS  ITO," 

"KNOWLEDGE,  LIFE,  AND  REALITY," 

"PHILOSOPHY  OF  CONDUCT," 

ETC.,  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

DODD,  MEAD  AND   COMPANY 
1910 


OFTHC 

UNIVERSITY 


JSt/o 

L 


COPYRIGHT,  1910,  BY 
DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 

Published,  September,  1910 


PREFACE 

BY  many  friends,  both  in  this  country  and  in  the 
Far  East,  the  question  has  often  been  asked  me: 
"Why  do  you  not  write  a  book  about  Japan ?" 
Whatever  answer  to  this  question  a  propos  of  each 
particular  occasion,  may  have  been  given,  there  have 
been  two  reasons  which  have  made  me  decline  the 
temptation  hitherto.  Of  the  innumerable  books, 
having  for  their  main  subject,  "The  Land  of  the 
Rising  Sun,"  which  have  appeared  during  the  last 
forty  years,  a  small  but  sufficient  number  have  de- 
scribed with  a  fair  accuracy  and  reasonable  sympathy, 
certain  aspects  of  the  country,  its  people,  their  past 
history,  and  recent  development.  To  correct  even, 
much  more  to  counteract,  the  influence  of  the  far 
greater  number  which,  if  the  wish  of  the  world  of 
readers  is  to  know  the  truth,  might  well  never  have 
been  written,  is  a  thankless  and  a  hopeless  task  for 
any  one  author  to  essay. 

A  yet  more  intimate  and  personal  consideration, 
however,  has  prevented  me  up  to  the  present  time 
from  complying  with  these  friendly  requests.  Many 
of  the  experiences,  of  special  interest  to  myself,  and 


207111 


x  PREFACE 

perhaps  most  likely  to  be  specially  interesting  and 
instructive  to  the  public,  have  been  so  intimate  and 
personal,  that  to  disclose  them  frankly  would  have 
seemed  like  a  breach  of  courtesy,  if  not  of  confidence. 
The  highly  favoured  guest  feels  a  sort  of  honourable 
reserve  about  speaking  of  the  personality  and  house- 
hold of  his  host.  He  does  not  go  away  after  weeks 
spent  at  another's  table,  to  describe  the  dishes,  the 
silver  and  other  furnishings,  and  the  food. 

What  I  have  told  in  this  book  of  some  of  the 
many  rare  and  notably  happy,  and,  I  hope,  useful 
days,  which  have  fallen  to  my  good  fortune  at  some 
time  during  my  three  visits  to  Japan,  has  not,  I  trust, 
transgressed  the  limits  of  friendly  truth  on  the  one 
hand,  or  of  a  friendly  reserve  on  the  other.  And 
if  the  narrative  should  give  to  any  of  my  country- 
men a  better  comprehension  of  the  best  side  of  this 
ambitious,  and  on  the  whole  admirable  and  lovable 
people,  and  a  small  share  in  the  pleasure  which  the 
experiences  narrated  have  given  to  the  author,  he 
will  be  much  more  than  amply  rewarded. 

GEORGE  TRUMBULL  LADD. 

NEW  HAVEN,  June,  1910. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  VISITING  THE  IMPERIAL  DIET i 

II  DOWN   THE   KATSURA-GAWA 25 

III  CLIMBING   ASAMA-YAMA 46 

IV  THE  SUMMER-SCHOOL  AT  HAKONE     ...  74 
V  JAPANESE  AUDIENCES 99 

VI  GARDENS  AND  GARDEN  PARTIES     .     .     .     .  126 

VII  AT  THE  THEATRE 156 

VIII  THE  No,  OR  JAPANESE  MIRACLE-PLAY     .     .  190 

IX  IKEGAMI    AND    JAPANESE    BUDDHISM     .     .  217 

X   HlKONE  AND  ITS  PATRIOT   MARTYR       .        .        .  248 
XI    HlRO-MURA,    THE     HOUSE    OF    "A       LlVING 

GOD" 281 

XII  COURT  FUNCTIONS  AND  IMPERIAL  AUDIENCES  314 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Country  Scenes  and  Country  Customs     .      .     Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

"The  Picturesque  Moat  and  Ancient  Wall"     .      .  18 

"The  Charm  of  the  Scenery  Along  the  Banks"     .  32 

"  To  Tend  These  Trees  Became  a  Privilege  "     .      .  38 

"  The  Villages  Have  Never  Been  Rebuilt "...  56 
"For  Centuries  Lovers  Have  Met  About  the  Old 

Well" 72 

"  Dark  and  Solemn  and  Stately  Cryptomerias  "     .      .  78 
"  Ashi-no-Umi,  which  is,  being  Interpreted,  '  The  Sea 

of   Reeds'" 84 

"  Class    and    Teacher   Always    Had    to   be    Photo- 
graphed"     .     ...     • 108 

"The  Bearing  of  the   Boys   and   Girls   is   Serious, 

Respectful    and   Affectionate"      ..,     .      .      .      .  118 

"It  is  Nature  Combed  and  Trimmed"     .      .      .      .  130 
"  Winding  Paths  Over  Rude  Moss-covered  Stepping- 

Stones " 142 

"The  Worship  of  Nature  in  the  Open  Air"     .      .  152 

"  In  One  Corner  of  the  Stage  Sits  the  Chorus  "     .  194 

"  Leading  Actors  in  the  Dramas  of  that  Day  "     .  208 

"Leading  Actors  in   the  Dramas  of  that  Day"     .  212 


xiv  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PA6E 

"  The  Chief  Abbot  Came  in  to  Greet  Us  "...  226 

"  Where  Nichiren  Spent  His  Last  Days  "...  234 

"Picturesquely   Seated   on   a  Wooded    Hill'*     .      .  250 

"All   Covered  with   Fresh-Fallen    Snow"     .      .      .  276 

"  Peasants  Were  Going  to  and  from  Their  Work  "     .  294 

"  You  can  not  Mock  the  Conviction  of  Millions  "     .  302 

"  The  Beautiful  Grounds  in  Full  Sight  of  the  Bay  "  308 

"  They  Took  Part  in  Out-Door  Sports     ....  320 


CHAPTER    I 

VISITING  THE  IMPERIAL  DIET 

THE  utter  strangeness  of  feeling  which  came  over 
me  when,  in  May  of  1892,  I  first  landed  in  Japan, 
will  never  be  repeated  by  any  experience  of  travel  in 
the  future  amidst  other  scenes,  no  matter  how  wholly 
new  they  may  chance  to  be.  Between  Vancouver,  so 
like  one  of  our  own  Western  towns,  and  the  Land  of 
the  Rising  Sun,  nature  provided  nothing  to  prepare 
the  mind  for  a  distinctly  different  type  of  landscape 
and  of  civilisation.  There  was  only  the  monoto- 
nous watery  waste  of  the  Northern  Pacific,  and  the 
equally  monotonous  roll  of  the  Empress  of  China, 
as  she  mounted  one  side  and  slid  down  the  other,  of 
its  long-sweeping  billows.  There  was  indeed  good 
company  on  board  the  ship.  For  besides  the  amuse- 
ment afforded  by  the  "  correspondent  of  a  Press  Syn- 
dicate," who  boasted  openly  of  the  high  price  at 
which  he  was  valued,  but  who  prepared  his  first 
letter  on  "  What  I  saw  in  China, "  from  the  ship's 
library,  and  then  mailed  it  immediately  on  arrival 
at  the  post-office  in  Yokohama,  there  were  several 
honest  folk  who  had  lived  for  years  in  the  Far  East. 


2          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

Each  of  these  had  one  or  more  intelligent  opinions 
to  impart  to  an  inquirer  really  desirous  of  learning 
the  truth.  Even  the  lesson  from  the  ignorance  and 
duplicity  of  this  moulder  of  public  opinion  through 
the  American  press  was  not  wholly  without  its  value 
as  a  warning  and  a  guide  in  future  observations  of 
Japan  and  the  Japanese.  The  social  atmosphere  of 
the  ship  was,  however,  not  at  all  Oriental.  For 
dress,  meals,  hours,  conversation,  and  games,  were 
all  in  Western  style.  Even  with  Doctor  Sato,  the 
most  distinguished  of  the  Japanese  passengers,  who 
was  returning  from  seven  years  of  study  with  the 
celebrated  German  bacteriologist,  Professor  Koch, 
I  could  converse  only  in  a  European  language. 

The  night  of  Friday,  May  27,  1892,  was  pitchy 
dark,  and  the  rain  fell  in  such  torrents  as  the  Captain 
said  he  had  seldom  or  never  seen  outside  the  tropics. 
This  officer  did  not  think  it  safe  to  leave  the  bridge 
during  the  entire  night,  and  was  several  times  on 
the  point  of  stopping  the  ship.  But  the  downpour 
of  the  night  left  everything  absolutely  clear;  and 
when  the  day  dawned,  Fujiyama,  the  "  incomparable 
mountain,"  could  be  seen  from  the  bridge  at  the 
distance  of  more  than  one-hundred  and  thirty  miles. 
In  the  many  views  which  I  have  since  had  of  Fuji, 
from  many  different  points  of  .view,  I  have  never 


THE    IMPERIAL    DIET  3 

seen  the  head  and  entire  bulk  of  the  sacred  mountain 
stand  out  as  it  did  for  us  on  that  first  vision,  now 
nearly  twenty  years  ago. 

The  other  first  sights  of  Japan  were  then  essen- 
tially the  same  as  those  which  greet  the  traveller  of 
to-day.  The  naked  bodies  of  the  fishermen,  shining 
like  polished  copper  in  the  sunlight;  the  wonderful 
colours  of  the  sea;  the  hills  terraced  higher  up  for 
various  kinds  of  grain  and  lower  down  for  rice;  the 
brown  thatched  huts  in  the  villages  along  the  shores 
of  the  Bay;  and,  finally,  the  busy  and  brilliant  har- 
bour of  Yokohama, — all  these  sights  have  scarcely 
changed  at  all.  But  the  rush  of  rival  launches,  the 
scramble  of  the  sampans,  the  frantic  clawing  with 
boat-hooks,,  which  sometimes  reached  sides  that  were 
made  of  flesh  instead  of  wood,  and  the  hauling  of 
the  Chinese  steerage  passengers  to  places  where  they 
did  not  wish  to  go,  have  since  been  much  better 
brought  under  the  control  of  law.  The  experience 
of  landing  as  a  novice  in  Japan  is  at  present,  there- 
fore, less  picturesque  and  exciting;  but  it  is  much 
more  comfortable  and  safe. 

The  arrival  of  the  Empress  of  China  some  hours 
earlier  than  her  advertised  time  had  deceived  the 
friends  who  were  to  meet  me ;  and  so  I  had  to  make 
my  way  alone  to  a  hotel  in  Tokyo.  But  notes  de- 


4          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

spatched  by  messengers  to  two  of  them — one  a  native 
and  since  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Diet,  and 
the  other  an  American  and  a  classmate  at  Andover, 
within  two  hours  quite  relieved  my  feelings  of 
strangeness  and  f riendlessness ;  and  never  since  those 
hours  have  such  feelings  returned  while  sojourning 
among  a  people  whom  I  have  learned  to  admire  so 
much  and  love  so  well. 

It  had  been  my  expectation  to  start  by  next  morn- 
ing's train  for  the  ancient  capital  of  Kyoto,  where  I 
was  to  give  a  course  of  lectures  in  the  missionary  Col- 
lege of  Doshisha.  But  in  the  evening  it  was  proposed 
that  I  should  delay  my  starting  for  a  single  day 
longer,  and  visit  the  Imperial  Diet,  which  had  only 
a  few  days  before,  amidst  no  little  political  excite- 
ment, begun  its  sittings.  I  gladly  consented;  since  it 
was  likely  to  prove  a  rare  and  rarely  instructive  ex- 
perience to  observe  for  myself,  in  the  company  of 
friends  who  could  interpret  both  customs  and  lan- 
guage, this  early  attempt  at  constitutional  govern- 
ment on  the  part  of  a  people  who  had  been  for  so 
many  centuries  previously  under  a  strictly  monarchical 
system,  and  excluded  until  very  recently  from  all  the 
world's  progress  in  the  practice  of  the  more  popular 
forms  of  self-go vernment.  The  second  session  of  the 
First  Diet,  which  began  to  sit  on  November  29,  1 890, 


THE     IMPERIAL    DIET  5 

had  been  brought  to  a  sudden  termination  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  December,  1891,  by  an  Imperial  order. 
This  order  implied  that  the  First  Diet  had  made 
something  of  a  "  mess  "  of  their  attempts  at  consti- 
tutional government.  The  "extraordinary  general 
election"  which  had  been  carried  out  on  the  fif- 
teenth of  February,  1892,  had  been  everywhere 
rather  stormy  and  in  some  places  even  bloody.  But 
the  new  Diet  had  come  together  again  and  were  once 
more  to  be  permitted  to  try  their  hand  at  law-making 
under  the  terms  of  the  Constitution  which  his  Im- 
perial Majesty  had  been  most  "  graciously  pleased 
to  grant "  to  His  people.  The  memory  of 
the  impressions  made  by  the  observations  of  this 
visit  is  rendered  much  more  vivid  and  even  a  matter 
for  astonishment,  when  these  impressions  are  com- 
pared with  the  recent  history  of  the  sad  failures  and 
exceedingly  small  successes  of  the  Russian  Duma.  So 
sharply  marked  and  even  enormous  a  contrast  seems, 
in  my  judgment,  about  equally  due  to  differences  in 
the  two  peoples  and  differences  in  the  two  Emperors. 
Another  fact  also  must  be  taken  into  the  account  of 
any  attempt  at  comparison.  The  aristocracy  of  Russia, 
who  form  the  entourage  and  councillors  of  the  Tsar 
are  quite  too  frequently  corrupt  and  without  any  gen- 
uine patriotism  or  regard  for  the  good  of  the  people ; 


6  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

while  the  statesmen  of  Japan,  whom  the  Emperor  has 
freely  made  his  most  trusted  advisers,  for  numbers, 
patriotism,  courage,  sagacity,  and  unselfishness,  have 
probably  not  had  their  -equals  anywhere  else  in  the 
history  of  the  modern  world. 

The  Japanese  friends  who  undertook  to  provide 
tickets  of  admission  to  the  House  of  Peers  were 
unsuccessful  in  their  application.  It  was  easier  for 
the  foreign  friend  to  obtain  written  permission  for 
the  Lower  House.  It  was  necessary,  then,  to  set 
forth  with  the  promise  of  having  only  half  of  our 
coveted  opportunity,  but  with  the  secret  hope  that 
some  stroke  of  good  luck  might  make  possible  the 
fulfilment  of  the  other  half.  And  this,  so  far  as 
I  was  concerned,  happily  came  true. 

As  our  party  were  entering  the  door  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  I  was  startled  by  the  cry  of 
"  soshi  "  and  the  rush  toward  us  of  two  or  three  of 
the  Parliamentary  police  officers,  who  proceeded  to 
divest  the  meekest  and  most  peaceable  of  its  mem- 
bers, the  Reverend  Mr.  H ,  of  the  very  harmless 

small  walking-stick  which  he  was  carrying  in  his 
hand.  It  should  be  explained  that,  according  to 
Professor  Chamberlain,  since  1888  there  had  sprung 
up  a  class  of  rowdy  youths,  called  soshi  in  Japanese 
I—"  juvenile  agitators  who  have  taken  all  politics  to 


THE     IMPERIAL    DIET  7 

be  their  province,  who  obtrude  their  views  and  their 
presence  on  ministers  of  state,  and  waylaid — blud- 
geon and  knife  in  hand — those  whose  opinions  on 
matters  of  public  interest  happen  to  differ  from  their 
own.  They  are,  in  a  strangely  modernised  disguise, 
the  representatives  of  the  wandering  swashbucklers 
or  rdnm  of  the  old  regime" 

After  his  cane  had  been  put  in  guard,  and  a  salu- 
tary rebuke  administered  to  my  clerical  friend  for 
his  seeming  disregard  of  the  regulations  providing 
for  the  freedom  from  this  kind  of  "  influence  "  which 
was  guaranteed  to  the  law-makers  of  the  New  Japan, 
we  were  allowed  to  go  upon  our  way.  Curiously 
enough,  however,  the  very  first  thing,  after  the 
opening,  which  came  before  the  House,  explained 
more  clearly  why  what  seemed  such  an  extraordinary 
fuss  had  been  made  over  so  insignificant  a  trifle.  For 
one  of  the  representatives  rose  to  complain  that  only 
the  day  before  a  member  of  the  Liberal  party  had 
been  set  upon  and  badly  cut  with  knives  by  soshi 
supposed  to  belong  to  the  Government  party.  The 
complaint  was  intended  to  be  made  more  effective 
and  bitter  by  the  added  remark  that  the  Speaker  of 
the  House  had  been  known  to  be  very  polite,  in  this 
and  in  all  cases  where  a  similar  ill-turn  had  been 
done  to  one  of  his  own  party,  to  send  around  to 


8  RARE     DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

the  residence  of  the  sufferer  messages  of  condolence 
and  of  inquiry  after  the  state  of  his  health.  In  the 
numerous  reverse  cases,  however,  the  politeness  of 
this  officer  of  the  whole  House  had  not  appeared 
equally  adequate  to  the  occasions  afforded  by  the 
"  roughs  "  of  the  anti-Government  party.  To  this 
sarcastic  sally  the  Speaker,  with  perfect  good  temper, 
made  a  quiet  reply;  and  at  once  the  entire  body 
broke  out  into  laughter,  and  the  matter  was  forth- 
with dropped  from  attention.  On  my  asking  for  an 
interpretation  of  this  mirth-provoking  remark,  it  was 
given  to  me  as  follows:  "The  members  of  the 
Speaker's  party  had  always  taken  pains  to  inform  him 
of  their  injuries,  and  so  he  had  known  just  where  to 
distribute  such  favours;  but  if  the  members  of  the 
opposite  party  would  let  him  know  when  they  were 
suffering  in  the  same  manner,  he  would  be  at  least 
equally  happy  to  extend  the  same  courtesies  to  them." 
It  will  assist  to  a  better  appreciation  of  what  I 
saw  on  this  occasion,  of  the  personnel  and  procedure 
of  the  Japanese  House  of  Representatives,  if  some 
account  is  given  of  its  present  constitution;  this 
differs  from  that  of  1892  only  in  the  fact  that  it  is 
somewhat  more  popular  now  than  it  was  then.  The 
House  is  composed  of  members  returned  by  male 
Japanese  subjects  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  years 


THE     IMPERIAL     DIET  9 

of  age  and  paying  a  direct  tax  of  not  less  than 
ten  yen.  There  are  two  kinds  of  members;  those 
returned  by  incorporated  cities  containing  not  less 
than  30,000  inhabitants,  and  those  by  people  resid- 
ing in  other  districts.  The  incorporated  cities  form 
independent  electoral  districts;  and  larger  cities  con- 
taining more  than  100,000  inhabitants  are  allowed 
to  return  one  member  for  every  130,000  people. 
The  other  districts  send  one  member  at  the  rate  of 
approximately  every  130,000  people;  each  prefec- 
ture being  regarded  as  one  electoral  district.  Elec- 
tion is  carried  on  by  open  ballot,  one  vote  for  each 
man;  and  a  general  election  is  to  take  place  every 
four  years,  supposing  the  House  sits  through  these 
four  years  without  suffering  a  dissolution  in  the 
interval.  The  qualifications  for  a  seat  in  the  House 
are  simple  for  all  classes  of  candidates.  Every  Jap- 
anese subject  who  has  attained  the  age  of  not  less 
than  thirty  years  is  eligible; — only  those  who  are 
mentally  defective  or  have  been  deprived  of  civil 
rights  being  disqualified.  The  property  qualification 
which  was  at  first  enforced  for  candidates  was 
abolished  in  1900  by  an  Amendment  to  the  Law  of 
Election. 

I  am  sure  that  no  unprejudiced  observer  of  the 
body  of  men  who  composed  the  Japanese  House  of 


io  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

Representatives  in  the  Spring  of  1892,  could  have 
failed  to  be  greatly  impressed  with  a  certain  air  of 
somewhat  undisciplined  vigour  and  as  yet  unskilled 
but  promising  business-like  quality.  The  first  odd 
detail  to  be  noticed  was  a  polished  black  tablet  stand- 
ing on  the  desk  of  each  member  and  inscribed  with 
the  Japanese  character  for  his  number.  Thus  they 
undertook  to  avoid  that  dislike  to  having  one's  own 
name  ill  used,  in  which  all  men  share  but  which  is  par- 
ticularly offensive  among  Oriental  peoples.  For  in- 
stead of  referring  to  one  another  as  "  the  gentleman 
from  Arkansas,"  etc.,  they  made  reference  to  one 
another  as  "  number  so  or  so."  How  could  anything 
be  more  strictly  impersonal  than  sarcasm,  or  criti- 
cism, or  even  abuse,  directed  against  a  number  that 
happens  only  temporarily  to  be  connected  with  one's 
Self! 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  light  upon  a  time  when 
the  business  of  the  day  was  most  interesting  and 
suggestive  of  the  temper  and  intentions  of  these  new 
experimenters  in  popular  legislation;  and,  as  well,  of 
the  hold  they  already  supposed  themselves  to  possess 
on  the  purse-strings  of  the  General  Government. 
What  was  my  surprise  to  find  that  this  power  was, 
to  all  appearances,  far  more  effective  and  frankly 
exercised  by  the  Japanese  Diet  than  has  for  a  long 


THE    IMPERIAL    DIET          n 

time  been  the  case  with  our  own  House  of  Congress. 
For  here  there  was  little  chance  for  secret  and  illicit 
influences  brought  to  bear  upon  Committees  on  Ap- 
propriations;  or  for  secure  jobbery  or  log-rolling  or 
lobbying  with  particular  legislators. 

The  business  of  the  day  was  the  passing  upon  re- 
quests for  supplementary  grants  from  the  different 
Departments  of  the  General  Government.  It  was 
conducted  in  the  following  perfectly  open  and  intel- 
ligible way:  The  Vice-Minister  of  each  Depart- 
ment was  allowed  so  many  minutes  in  which  he 
was  expected  to  explain  the  exact  purpose  for  which 
the  money  was  wanted;  and  to  tell  precisely  in  yen 
how  much  would  be  required  for  that  purpose  and 
for  that  purpose  only.  The  request  having  been 
read,  the  Vice-Minister  then  retired,  and  fifteen  min- 
utes, not  more,  were  allowed  for  a  speech  from  some 
member  of  the  opposition.  The  Speaker,  or — to 
use  the  more  appropriate  Japanese  title — President 
of  the  House,  was  at  that  time  Mr.  T.  Hoshi,  who 
had  qualified  as  a  barrister  in  London,  and  who  in 
personal  appearance  bore  a  somewhat  striking  re- 
semblance to  the  late  President  Harper  of  Chicago 
University.  He  seemed  to  preside  with  commend- 
able tact  and  dignity. 

As  I  look  backward  upon  that  session  of  the  Im- 


12          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

perial  Japanese  Diet,  there  is  one  item  of  business 
which  it  transacted  that  fills  me  with  astonishment. 
The  request  of  the  Department  of  Education  for 
money  to  rebuild  the  school-houses  which  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  terrible  earthquake  of  the  preced- 
ing winter  was  immediately  granted.  Similar  re- 
quests from  the  Department  of  Justice,  which  wished 
to  rebuild  the  wrecked  court-houses,  and  from  the 
Department  of  Communications,  for  funds  to  restore 
the  post-offices,  also  met  with  a  favourable  reception. 
But  when  the  Government  asked  an  appropriation 
for  the  Department  of  the  Navy,  with  which  to 
found  iron-works,  so  that  they  might  be  prepared  to 
repair  their  own  war-ships,  the  request  was  almost 
as  promptly  denied!  To  be  sure,  the  alleged 
ground  of  the  denial  was  that  the  plans  of  the  Gov- 
ernment were  not  yet  sufficiently  matured. 

At  this  juncture  Mr.  Kojiro  Matsukata,  the  third 
son  of  Japan's  great  financier.  Marquis  Matsukata, 
came  into  the  gallery  where  we  were  sitting  and  of- 
fered to  take  me  into  the  House  of  Peers.  But  be- 
fore I  follow  him  there  let  me  recall  another  cour- 
tesy from  this  same  Japanese  friend,  which  came  fif- 
teen years  later;  and  which,  by  suggesting  contrasts 
with  the  action  of  the  Diet  in  1892,  wfll  emphasise 
in  a  picturesque  way  the  great  and  rapid  changes 


THE    IMPERIAL    DIET          13 

which  have  since  then  taken  place  in  Japan.  On  the 
morning  of  February  19,  1907,  Mr.  Matsukata, 
who  is  now  president  of  the  ship-building  company 
at  Kawasaki,  near  Kobe,  showed  me  over  the  yards. 
This  plant  is  situated  for  the  most  part  on  made 
ground;  and  it  required  four  years  and  a  half  to  find 
firm  bottom  at  an  expense  of  more  than  yen  1,000,- 
ooo.  The  capital  of  the  company  is  now  more  than 
yen  10,000,000.  All  over  the  works  the  din  of 
9,000  workmen  made  conversation  nearly  impossi- 
ble. But  when  we  had  returned  to  his  office,  a  quiet 
chat  with  the  host  over  the  inevitable  but  always 
grateful  cups  of  tea,  elicited  these  among  other  in- 
teresting incidents.  Above  the  master's  desk  hung 
the  photograph  of  a  group  which  included  Admiral 
Togo;  and  still  higher  up,  above  the  photograph,  a 
motto  in  the  Admiral's  own  hand-writing,  executed 
on  one  of  his  visits  to  the  works — he  having  been 
summoned  by  the  Emperor  for  consultation  during  the 
Russo-Japanese  war.  On  my  asking  for  a  translation 
of  the  motto,  I  was  told  that  it  read  simply :  "  Keep 
the  Peace."  Just  two  days  before  the  battle  of  the 
Sea  of  Japan,  Mr.  Matsukata  had  a  telegraphic  mes- 
sage from  Togo,  which  came  "  out  of  the  blue,"  so 
to  say,  and  which  read  in  this  significant  way: 
"  After  a  thousand  different  thoughts,  now  one  fixed 


14  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

purpose."  In  the  centre  of  another  group-photo- 
graph of  smaller  size,  sat  the  celebrated  Russian 
General,  Kuropatkin.  This  picture  was  taken  on 
the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  the  ship-yards  some  years 
before.  Mr.  Matsukata  became  at  that  time  well 
acquainted  with  Kuropatkin,  and  described  him  to 
me  as  a  kindly  and  simple-minded  gentleman  of  the 
type  of  an  English  squire.  He  was  very  fond  of 
fishing;  but  like  my  friend,  the  Russian  General 

Y ?  he  appeared  to  have  an  almost  passionate 

abhorrence  of  war.  He  once  said  to  my  host: 
"  Why  do  you  build  war  ships;  why  not  build  only 
merchant  ships;  that  is  much  better?"  To  this  it 
was  replied:  ;'Why  do  you  carry  your  sword? 
Throw  away  the  sword  and  I  will  stop  building  war 
ships."  And,  indeed,  in  most  modern  wars,  it  is  not 
the  men  who  must  do  the  fighting  or  the  people  who 
must  pay  the  bills,  that  are  chiefly  responsible  for 
their  initiation;  it  is  the  selfish  promoters  of  schemes 
for  the  plunder  of  other  nations,  the  cowardly  poli- 
ticians, and  perhaps  above  all,  the  unscrupulous  press, 
which  are  chiefly  responsible  for  the  horrors  of  war. 
Through  all  modern  history,  since  men  ceased  to  be 
frankly  barbarian  in  their  treatment  of  other  peo- 
ples and  races,  it  has  been  commercial  greed,  and  its 
subsidised  agents  among  the  makers  of  laws  and 


THE    IMPERIAL    DIET          15 

of  public  feeling,  which  have  chiefly  been  guilty  for 
the  waste  of  treasure  and  life  among  civilised 
peoples. 

But  let  us  leave  the  noise  of  the  Kawasaki  Dock 
Yards,  where  in  1907  Russian  ships  were  repairing, 
Chinese  gun-boats  and  torpedo  and  other  boats  for 
Siam  were  building,  and  merchant  and  war  ships  for 
the  home  country  were  in  Various  stages  of  new  con- 
struction or  repair;  and  let  us  return  to  the  quiet  of 
the  House  of  Peers  when  I  visited  it  in  May  of 
1892.  After  a  short  time  spent  in  one  of  the  retir- 
ing rooms,  which  are  assigned  according  to  the  rank 
of  the  members — Marquis  Matsukata  being  then 
Premier — we  were  admitted  to  the  gallery  of  the 
Foreign  Ambassadors,  from  which  there  is  a  par- 
ticularly good  view  of  the  entire  Upper  House. 

The  Japanese  House  of  Peers  is  composed  of  four 
classes  of  members.  These  are  (i)  Princes  of  the 
Blood;  (2)  Peers,  such  as  the  Princes  and  Mar- 
quises, who  sit  by  virtue  of  their  right,  when  they 
reach  the  age  of  twenty-five,  and  Counts,  Viscounts, 
and  Barons,  who  are  elected  to  represent  their  own 
respective  classes;  (3)  men  of  erudition  who  are 
nominated  by  the  Emperor  for  their  distinguished 
services  to  the  state;  and  (4)  representatives  of  the 
highest  tax-payers,  who  are  elected  from  among 


16  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

themselves,  and  only  one  from  each  prefecture. 
Each  of  the  three  inferior  orders  can  return  not  more 
than  one-fifth  of  the  total  number  of  peers;  and  the 
total  of  the  non-titled  members  must  not  be  greater 
than  that  of  the  titled  members.  It  is  thus  made 
obvious  that  the  Japanese  House  of  Peers  is  essen- 
tially an  aristocratic  body;  and  yet  that  it  represents 
all  the  most  important  interests  of  the  country  in 
some  good  degree — -whatever  may  be  thought  of  the 
proportion  of  representation  assigned  to  each  inter- 
est. The  care  that  science  and  scholarship  shall 
have  at  least  some  worthy  representation  in  the  na- 
tional counsels  and  legislation  is  well  worthy  of  imi- 
tation by  the  United  States.  And  when  to  this  pro- 
vision we  add  the  facts,  that  a  Minister  of  Educa- 
tion takes  rank  with  the  other  Ministers,  that  the 
Professors  in  the  Imperial  Universities  have  court 
rank  by  virtue  of  their  services,  and  that  the  perma- 
nent President  of  the  Imperial  Teacher's  Associa- 
tion is  a  Baron  and  a  member  of  the  House  of  Peers, 
we  may  well  begin  to  doubt  whether  the  recognition 
accorded  to  the  value  of  education  in  relation  to  the 
national  life,  and  to  the  dignity  and  worth  of  the 
teacher's  office,  is  in  this  country  so  superior  to  that 
of  other  nations,  after  all. 

The  appearance  of  the  Chamber  occupied  by  the 


THE     IMPERIAL    DIET          17 

Peers  was  somewhat  more  luxurious  than  that  of  the 
Lower  House;  although  it  was  then,  and  still  is, 
quite  unimposing  as  compared  with  buildings  used 
for  legislative  purposes  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe.  Indeed,  everywhere  in  Tokyo,  the  ugly 
German  architecture  of  the  Government  buildings 
contrasts  strikingly  with  the  picturesque  moat  and 
ancient  walls  of  the  Imperial  grounds.  More  elabor- 
ate decoration,  and  the  platform  above  which  an 
ascent  by  a  few  steps  led  to  the  throne  from  which 
His  Majesty  opens  Parliament,  were  the  only  claims 
of  the  Upper  Chamber  to  distinction.  The  per- 
sonnel  of  the  members  seemed  to  me  on  the  whole 
less  vigorous  than  that  of  the  Lower  House.  This 
was  in  part  due  to  the  sprinkling  of  youthful  mar- 
quises, who,  as  has  already  been  explained,  take  their 
seats  by  hereditary  right  at  the  age  of  twenty-five. 
In  marked  contrast  with  them  was  the  grim  old 

General  T ,  a  member  of  the  Commission  which 

visited  the  United  States  in  1871,  who  asserted  Him- 
self by  asking  a  question  and  then  going  on  to  make 
a  speech,  in  spite  of  the  taunts  of  two  or  three  of 
the  younger  members.  The  manner  of  voting  in  the 
Upper  House  was  particularly  interesting;  as  the 
roll  was  called,  each  member  mounted  the  platform 
and  deposited  either  a  white  or  a  blue  card  in  a  black 


1 

i8  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

lacquer  box  which  stood  in  front  of  the  President  of 
the  Chamber. 

Here  the  business  of  the  day  was  important  on 
account  of  the  precedent  which  it  was  likely  to  es- 
tablish. A  Viscount  member  had  been  promoted  to 
a  Count,  and  the  question  had  arisen  whether  his 
seat  should  be  declared  vacant.  The  report  of  the 
committee  which  disqualified  him  from  sitting  as  a 
Count  was  voted  upon  and  adopted.  Then  came 
up  the  case  of  two  Counts  who  were  claimants  for 
the  same  seat.  The  vote  for  these  rival  candidates 
had  stood  30  to  31 ;  but  one  voter  among  the  ma- 
jority had  been  declared  disqualified;  because,  hav- 
ing held  a  Viscount's  seat,  on  being  promoted  to  a 
Count,  he  had  attempted  to  vote  as  a  Count.  All 
this,  while  of  importance  as  precedents  determining 
the  future  constitution  of  the  House  of  Peers,  had 
not  at  all  the  same  wide-reaching  significance  as  the 
signs  in  the  Lower  House  of  the  beginnings  in  Japan 
of  that  struggle  which  is  still  going  on  all  over  the 
world  between  the  demands  of  the  Central  Govern- 
ment for  money  and  the  legislative  body  which  votes 
the  appropriations  to  meet  these  demands. 

It  was  under  very  different  circumstances  that  I 
witnessed  a  quite  dissimilar  scene,  when  in  December 
of  1906  my  next  visit  was  paid  to  the  Imperial  Diet 


THE     IMPERIAL    DIET          19 

of  Japan.  This  occasion  was  the  opening  of  the 
Diet  by  the  Emperor  in  person.  Now,  while  my 
court  rank  gave  me  the  right  to  request  an  official  in- 
vitation to  the  ceremony,  the  nature  of  the  ceremony 
itself  required  that  all  who  attended  should  come  in 
full  dress  and  wearing  their  decorations,  if  they  were 
the  possessors  of  decorations  at  all.  It  was  also  re- 
quired that  all  visitors  should  be  in  their  respective 
waiting-rooms  for  a  full  hour  before  the  ceremony 
began.  None  might  enter  the  House  later  than  ten 
o'clock,  although  His  Majesty. did.- aot  leave  the  pal- 
ace until  half-past  this  hour.  This  waiting,  how- 
ever, gave  a  not  undesirable  opportunity  to  make 
some  new  acquaintance,  or  to  have  a  chat  with  two  or 
three  old  friends.  But  besides  the  members  of  the 
various  diplomatic  corps  and  a  French  Count,  who 
appeared  to  be  a  visitor  at  his  nation's  Embassy, 
there  were  no  other  foreigners  in  the  waiting-room  to 
which  I  was  directed  on  arrival. 

During  the  hour  spent  in  waiting,  however,  I  had 

a  most  interesting  conversation  with  Baron  R , 

an  attache  of  the  German  Embassy,  who  seemed  a 
very  clever  and  sensible  young  gentleman.  The  ex- 
citement over  the  recent  action  of  the  San  Francisco 
School  Board  was  then  at  its  extreme  height;  and 
on  discussing  with  him  an  "  open  letter  "  which  I 


20          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

had  just  published,  explaining  in  behalf  of  my  Jap- 
anese friends  the  relation  in  which  this  action,  with 
some  of  the  questions  which  it  raised,  stood  to  our 
national  constitution,  I  found  him  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  historical  and  the  political  bearings 
of  the  whole  difficult  subject.  I  could  not  avoid  a 
regretful  sigh  over  the  doubt  whether  one-half  of 
our  own  representatives,  or  even  of  our  foreign  serv- 
ice, were  so  well  informed  on  the  nature  of  our  con- 
stitution and  its  history  as  was  this  German  diplomat. 
However  this  may  be,  certain  it  is  that  a  higher 
grade  of  culture  is  eminently  desirable  in  both  the 
legislative  and  diplomatic  classes  of  our  public  serv- 
ice. In  the  same  connection  the  Baron  gave  it  as  his 
opinion  that  Japan  had  produced  in  this  generation 
a  nobler  and  more  knightly  type  of  individual  man- 
hood than  can  be  found  in  any  country  in  Europe. 
Such  a  verdict  can,  of  course,  never  acquire  any 
higher  trustworthiness  than  an  individual's  opinion. 
But  if  we  ask  ourselves,  "Where  in  the  world  is  an- 
other city  of  45,000  inhabitants  to  be  found,  which 
has  produced  in  this  generation  six  generals  who  are 
the  equals  of  Field  Marshall  Oyama,  Admiral  Togo, 
and  Generals  Oku,  Count  Nodzu,  and  the  two  Sai- 
gos?"  I  imagine  the  answer  would  be  exceedingly 
hard  to  find.  Perhaps  the  truth  is,  as  one  of  my 


THE     IMPERIAL    DIET          21 

best  informed  Japanese  friends  once  quaintly  said: 
"  In  America  you  have  a  few  big,  bad  men,  and  a 
good  many  small  good  men;  but  in  Japan  we  have 
a  few  big,  good  men  and  a  good  many  small  bad 
men."  At  any  rate,  the  six  "  big  men,"  whose 
names  have  just  been  mentioned,  were  about  fifty 
years  ago  living  and  playing  as  boys  together  in  an 
area  so  small  that  the  houses  and  yards  of  their  par- 
ents, and  all  the  space  intervening,  might  have  been 
covered  by  a  ten-acre  lot. 

As  soon  as  His  Majesty  had  arrived,  all  those  who 
had  been  waiting  were  conducted  to  their  proper 
chambers  in  the  gallery  of  the  Peer's  House,  where 
I  found  myself  seated  with  Japanese  only,  and  be- 
tween those  of  a  higher  rank  on  the  right  and  of  a 
lower  rank  on  the  left.  The  members  of  both 
Houses  of  the  Diet  were  standing  on  the  floor  below; 
— those  from  the  Lower  House  on  the  left  and  fac- 
ing the  throne,  and  those  from  the  House  of  Peers 
on  the  right.  The  former  were  dressed,  with  some 
exceptions,  in  evening-dress,  and  the  latter  in  court 
uniform  with  gold  epaulets  on  their  shoulders.  All 
the  spectators  in  the  galleries  were  in  court  dress. 
On  the  right  of  the  platform,  from  which  steps  led 
up  to  the  throne,  stood  a  group  of  some  fifteen  or 
twenty  court  officials.  At  about  five  minutes  past 


22  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

eleven  an  equal  number  of  such  personages  came  into 
the  Chamber  by  the  opposite  door  of  the  platform 
and  arranged  themselves  so  as  to  form  a  passage 
through  the  midst  of  them  for  the  Emperor.  Not 
more  than  five  minutes  later  His  Majesty  entered, 
and  ascending  to  the  throne,  sat  down  for  a  moment; 
but  almost  immediately  rose  and  received  from  the 
hand  of  Marquis  Saionji,  the  Prime  Minister,  the 
address  from  the  throne  inscribed  on  a  parchment 
scroll.  This  he  then  read,  or  rather  intoned,  in  a 
remarkably  clear  but  soft  and  musical  voice.  The 
entire  address  occupied  not  more  than  three  minutes 
in  the  reading.  After  it  was  finished,  Prince  Toku- 
gawa,  President  of  the  Peers,  went  up  from  the  floor 
of  the  House  to  the  platform,  and  then  to  a  place 
before  the  throne;  here  he  received  the  scroll  from 
the  Emperor's  hand.  After  which  he  backed  down 
to  the  floor  again,  went  directly  in  front  of  His 
Majesty  and  made  a  final  bow.  The  Emperor  him- 
self immediately  descended  from  the  throne  and 
made  his  exit  from  the  platform  by  the  door  at 
which  he  had  entered,  followed  by  all  the  court- 
iers. 

All  were  enjoined  to  remain  in  their  places  until 
the  Emperor  had  left  the  House;  the  audience  then 
dispersed  without  further  regard  to  order  or  to  pre- 


THE     IMPERIAL    DIET          23 

cedence.       So  simple  and  brief  was  this  impressive 
ceremony ! 

Nearly  all  over  the  civilised  world,  at  the  present 
time,  there  seems  to  be  a  growing  distrust  of  govern- 
ment by  legislative  bodies  as  at  present  constituted 
and  an  increasing  doubt  as  to  the  final  fate  of  this 
form  of  government.  The  distrust  and  doubt  are 
chiefly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  legislators  seem  so 
largely  under  the  control  of  the  struggle  which  is 
everywhere  going  on  between  the  now  privileged 
classes,  in  their  efforts  to  retain  their  inherited  or  ac- 
quired advantages,  and  the  socially  lower  or  less 
prosperous  classes,  in  their  efforts  to  wrest  away 
these  advantages  and  to  secure  what  they — whether 
rightly  or  wrongly — regard  as  equal  rights  and 
equal  opportunities  with  their  more  favoured  and 
prosperous  fellows.  It  is  not  strange,  in  view  of 
this  so  nearly  universal  fact,  that  any  inquiry  as  to  the 
past  and  present  success  of  legislation  under  consti- 
tutional government  in  Japan,  should  receive  such 
various  and  conflicting  answers  both  from  intelligent 
natives  and  from  observant  foreigners.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  among  those  who  know  the  inside  of 
Japanese  politics  that  the  success  of  this  sort  which 
has  hitherto  been  attained  in  Japan  has  been  in  large 
measure  due  to  the  wise  and  firm  but  gracious  con- 


24  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

duct  of  the  Emperor  himself;  and  to  that  small  group 
of  "  elder  statesmen"  and  other  councillors  whom  he 
has  trusted  and  supported  so  faithfully.  But  no  few 
men,  however  wise  and  great,  could  have  achieved 
by  themselves  what  has  actually  been  accomplished 
in  the  last  half-century  of  the  Empire's  history. 
Great  credit  must  then  be  given  to  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  lesser  heroes;  and  indeed  the  events  of 
this  history  cannot  be  accounted  for  without  admit- 
ting that  the  genius  of  the  race,  accentuated  by  their 
long  period  of  seclusion,  is  the  dominant  factor.  The 
one  fault,  which  most  threatens  the  cause  of  parlia- 
mentary and  constitutional  government  of  Japan,  is 
a  certain  inability,  hitherto  inherent,  to  avoid  the 
evils  of  an  extreme  partisanship  and  to  learn  that 
art  of  practical  compromises  which  has  made  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race  so  successful  hitherto  in  constitu- 
tional and  popular  government. 


CHAPTER    II 

DOWN  THE   KATSURA-GAWA 

AT  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  second  day 
after  my  visit  to  the  Imperial  Diet  in  the  Spring  of 
1892,  I  arrived  at  the  station  of  Kyoto, — for  more 
than  a  thousand  years  the  capital  of  Japan.  Here  the 
unbroken  line  of  heavenly  descended  Mikados  lived 
and  held  their  court;  but  most  of  the  time  in  only 
nominal  rule,  while  a  succession  of  Daimyos,  mili- 
tary captains,  and  Shoguns,  seized  and  held  the  real 
power  of  government.  Here  also  are  the  finest  tem- 
ples and  factories  for  the  various  kinds  of  native 
art-work;  and  here  is  where  the  relics  of  the  mag- 
nificence, combined  with  simplicity,  of  the  court  life 
during  Japan's  feudal  ages  may  best  be  seen  and 
studied  by  privileged  inquirers.  It  was  fortunate, 
then,  that  my  first  introduction  to  Interior  views  of 
Japanese  life  and  Japanese  character  was  had  in  the 
ancient  rather  than  in  the  much  more  thoroughly 
modernised  Capital  City  of  Tokyo. 

At  that  time,  the  journey  between  the  two  capitals 
required  some  five  or  six  hours  longer  than  is  now 
necessary.    The  fact  that  there  were  then  no  sleep- 
as 


26  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

ing-cars,  together  with  my  interest  in  watching  my 
fellow  travellers,  had  prevented  my  getting  any  sleep 
the  night  before.  When,  therefore,  I  had  been  es- 
corted to  the  home  of  my  host  and  forthwith  in- 
formed that  within  two  hours  a  delegation  of  stu- 
dents would  visit  me,  for  the  double  purpose  of  ex- 
tending a  welcome  and  of  giving  instructions  as  to 
the  topics  on  which  they  wished  to  be  lectured  to,  I 
made  bold  to  go  to  bed  and  leave  word  that  I  should 
be  glad  to  see  them  if  they  would  return  about  noon. 
At  the  appointed  hour  this  first  meeting  with  Jap- 
anese students  face  to  face,  in  their  native  land,  came 
off.  It  was  conducted  with  an  appropriately  polite 
solemnity  by  both  parties.  An  elaborate  inter- 
change of  greetings  and  compliments  began  the  in- 
terview; and  then  the  future  speaker  listened  atten- 
tively and  patiently,  while  the  delegation  from  a  por- 
tion of  his  future  audience  recited  the  subjects  about 
which  they  deemed  it  best  for  him  to  speak.  The  re- 
ply was  to  the  effect  that  the  subjects  for  the  course 
of  lectures  had  already  been  selected  and  carefully 
prepared:  the  program,  therefore,  could  not  be  al- 
tered ;  but  some  of  the  topics  coincided  closely  with 
the  program  suggested  by  the  Committee;  and 
a  series  of  conversations  would  accompany  the  lec- 
tures, at  which  the  topics  not  provided  for  in  the 


DOWN    THE    KATSURA-GAWA     27 

course  of  lectures  could  be  brought  up  for  discus- 
sion in  the  form  of  question  and  answer. 

This  experience  and  others  somewhat  similar, 
which  followed  with  sufficient  rapidity,  early  taught 
me  a  valuable  lesson  for  all  subsequent  intercourse 
with  the  Japanese — young  and  old,  and  irrespective 
of  distinctions  of  classes.  With  full  right,  and  on  a 
basis  of  history  and  racial  characteristics,  they  do  not 
gratefully  tolerate  being  looked  down  upon,  or 
even  condescended  to,  by  foreigners.  But  they  re- 
spect, as  we  Anglo-Saxons  do,  the  person  who  deals 
with  them  in  manly  frankness,  and  on  terms  of  manly 
equality.  And  they  admire  and  practice  more  than 
we  do,  the  proper  mixture  of  quietness  and  polite- 
ness in  manner  with  courage  and  firmness  at  the 
heart  (suaviter  in  modo,  fortiter  in  re).  In  his 
admirable  volumes  on  the  Russo-Japanese  war,  Gen- 
eral Ian  Hamilton  tells  the  story  of  how  he  asked 
some  of  the  Japanese  military  authorities,  What 
they  considered  the  most  essential  quality  for  a  great 
field-marshal  or  general  in  conducting  a  battle;  and 
how  the  reply  was  these  simple  words:  " Du 
calme"  The  private  soldier — although  not  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  best  service  of  the  cause — may  in- 
dulge in  the  wild  excitement  which  Lieutenant  Sa- 
kurai's  "  Human  Bullets "  depicts  in  such  horribly 


28  RARE     DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

graphic  manner;  but  not  so  the  officer  in  command 
of  the  field.  He  must  keep  the  cool  head  and  the 
unperturbed  heart,  with  its  steady  pulse-beat,  if  he 
is  going  to  fight  successfully  an  up-hill  battle. 

After  onjy  two  days  of  lecturing  at  Doshisha,  the 
institution  founded  by  Neesima,  the  unveiling  of 
whose  portrait  has  lately  been  celebrated  at  Amherst 
College  where  he  graduated  some  thirty  years  ago, 
the  weekly  holiday  arrived;  and  with  it  the  time  for 
an  excursion  down  the  rapids  of  the  Katsura-gawa, 
which  was  to  give  me  the  first  views  of  country 
scenes  and  country  customs  in  Japan.  The  day  was 
as  bright  and  beautiful  as  a  day  in  early  June  can 
possibly  be.  Nowhere  else  in  the  world,  where  I 
have  been,  are  one's  pleasant  impressions  and  happi- 
ness in  country  excursions  more  completely  dependent 
upon  the  weather  than  in  the  Land  of  the  "  Rising 
Sun."  Although  this  sun  is  of  the  kind  which 
"  smites  you  by  day"  in  the  Summer  months,  you  can 
easily  guard  against  its  smiting  by  use  of  pith  hat 
and  umbrella ;  but  you  cannot  so  readily  defend  your 
spirits  against  the  depressing  effect  of  day  after  day 
of  cloud  and  down-pour  or  drizzle  of  rain. 

The  starting  at  half-past  seven  o'clock  made  nec- 
essary an  early  rising  and  an  early  breakfast;  but  this 
is  custom  and  no  hardship  in  the  Summer  time  of 


DOWN    THE    KATSURA-GAWA     29 

Japan.  Indeed  it  has  often  seemed  to  me  that  the 
Japanese  in  the  cities  at  this  time  of  the  year  do  not 
go  to  bed  at  all.  The  insufficiency  of  sleep  is  prob- 
ably one  chief  reason  for  the  prevalence  of  nervous 
disorders  among  this  class  of  the  population.  It  is 
somewhat  compensated  for,  however,  by  the  wonder- 
ful ability  of  the  coolies,  which  they  possess  in  com- 
mon with  Orientals  generally }  of  falling  asleep  and 
waking  up,  like  the  opening  and  shutting  of  a  jack- 
knife. 

It  is  not  quite  possible  for  the  most  gifted  master 
of  the  descriptive  style  to  depict  the  charm  of  the 
first  jinrikisha  ride  out  into  the  country  surrounding 
Kyoto.  At  least,  the  charm  experienced  by  me  on 
the  occasion  of  this  excursion  will  never  be  forgot- 
ten. The  excellent  road;  the  durable  and  handsome 
stone  bridges;  the  continuous  gardens  and  frequent 
villages;  the  perpetual  stir  along  the  highway,  with 
the  multitude  of  jinrikishas  and  two-wheeled  carts, 
— some  drawn  by  men  and  boys,  and  some  by  bulls, 
mostly  black, — or  of  foot-passengers,  coming  into 
the  city  on  business  or  going  into  the  country  bent  on 
pleasure; — all  these  made  the  entire  journey  exceed- 
ingly lively  and  interesting.  Further  out,  in  the 
more  solitary  places,  were  the  terraces  covered  with 
verdure  and  flowers,  the  hills  carpeted  with  what 


30  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

looked  like  large  and  luxurious  ferns,  but  which 
really  was  "mountain  grass,"  and  the  waterfalls; 
but  perhaps  most  beautiful  of  all,  the  bamboo 
groves,  whose  slender  trunks  and  delicate  foliage 
threw  a  matchless  chiaroscuro  upon  the  brilliantly 
coloured  ground  below.  Here  was  indeed  a  genuine 
chiaroscuro;  for  the  parts  in  shadow  had  "  the  clear- 
ness and  warmth  of  those  in  light,  and  those  in  light 
the  depth  and  softness  of  those  in  shadow." 

What  might  have  been  a  ridiculous  or  even  a  dan- 
gerous adventure  met  us  at  the  mouth  of  the  long 
tunnel  which  the  work  of  the  government  has  sub- 
stituted for  the  ancient  mountain  pass.  For,  as  we 
reached  the  spot  and  were  about  to  enter  its  mouth, 
strange  noises  issuing  from  within  made  us  pause  to 
investigate  their  cause.  On  peering  into  the  dark- 
ness, we  were  able  to  make  out  that  a  full-grown 
male  of  the  domestic  bovine  species  had  broken  the 
straw  rope  by  which  two  coolies  were  leading  him, 
and  was  charging  toward  our  end  of  the  tunnel  with 
all  the  bellowing  and  antic  fury  which  is  wont  to 
characterise  this  animal  under  similar  circumstances. 
It  did  not  seem  that  the  issue  of  an  encounter  be- 
tween us  in  jinrikishas  and  the  bull,  in  so  narrow  a 
passage  with  high  and  roofed-over  stone  walls  on 
either  side,  would  be  to  our  advantage.  We  there- 


DOWN    THE    KATSURA-GAWA    31 

fore  laid  aside  our  dignity,  got  down  from  our  jin- 
rikishas,  and  squeezed  both  ourselves  and  them  as 
closely  as  possible  against  the  side  of  the  cut  at  the 
end  of  the  tunnel.  Fortunately  we  had  not  long  to 
wait  in  this  position  of  rather  uncertain  security. 
For  either  the  sight  of  us,  barring  his  passage,  or 
some  trick  of  his  own  brain,  induced  the  infuriated 
animal  to  turn  about  and  make  his  exit  at  the  other 
end  of  the  tunnel ;  and  after  waiting  long  enough  to 
place  a  sufficient  distance  between  the  two  parties,  we 
continued  our  journey  without  further  adventure. 

On  reaching  Hozu,  the  village  where  the  boat  was 
to  be  taken  for  the  rapids,  we  found  that  President 
Kozaki  and  one  of  his  teachers  were  waiting  for  us. 
Some  one-hundred  and  twenty  boys  of  the  Prepara- 
tory School,  who  had  risen  in  the  night  and  walked 
out  to  Hozu,  had  started  down  the  rapids  several 
hours  before.  The  boat  in  waiting  for  our  party 
was  of  the  style  considered  safest  and  most  manage- 
able by  the  experienced  boatmen,  who  during  the 
previous  fifteen  years  had  piloted  thousands  of  per- 
sons down  the  Katsura-gawa,  at  all  stages  of  its 
waters,  with  a  loss  of  only  five  lives.  The  boat  was 
very  broad  for  its  length,  low,  and  light;  with  its 
bottom  only  slightly  curved,  fore  and  aft,  and 
toward  both  sides.  So  thin  were  the  boards  between 


32  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

the  passengers  and  the  swift,  boiling  waters,  that  one 
could  feel  them  bend  like  paper  as  we  shot  over  the 
waves.  We  sat  upon  blankets  laid  on  the  bottom 
of  the  boat.  There  were  four  boatmen; — one 
steersman  with  a  long  oar,  in  the  stern,  two  oarsmen 
on  the  same  side,  toward  the  bank  of  the  river,  in 
the  middle  of  the  boat,  and  one  man  with  a  pole,  in 
the  bow.  Once  only  during  thirteen  miles  of  rapids 
between  Hozu  and  Arashi-yama  did  the  boat  strike 
a  rock,  from  which  it  bounded  off  lightly; — the  sole 
result  being  a  somewhat  sharp  interchange  of  opin- 
ion as  to  who  was  to  blame,  between  the  steersman 
and  the  other  boatmen. 

The  excitement  of  the  ride  did  not  in  any  respect 
interfere  with  a  constant  and  increasing  admiration 
of  the  charm  of  the  scenery  along  the  banks  of  the 
river.  The  canyon  of  the  stream  and  the  surround- 
ing hills  were  equally  beautiful.  The  nearer  banks 
were  adorned  with  bamboo  groves,  the  attractiveness 
of  whose  delicately  contrasted  or  blended  light  and 
shadows  has  already  been  referred  to;  and  at  this 
season,  great  clumps  of  azaleas — scarlet,  pink,  and 
crimson — made  spots  of  brilliant  colouring  upon  the 
sober  background  of  moss  and  fern  and  soil  and 
rock. 

The  average  trip  down  the  rapids  of  the  Katsura- 


DOWN    THE    KATSURA-GAWA    33 

gawa  occupies  two  hours.  But  the  favourable  stage 
of  the  water,  helped  out  by  the  skilful  management 
of  the  craft  on  this  occasion,  brought  us  to  the  land- 
ing place  at  Arashi-yama  in  scarcely  more  than  an 
hour  and  a  half.  Our  entire  course  may  be  de- 
scribed in  the  guide-book  style  as  follows:  "  Of  the 
numerous  small  rapids  and  races,  the  following  are 
a  few  of  the  most  exciting : — Koya  no  takl,  or  *  Hut 
Rapids,'  a  long  race  terminating  in  a  pretty  rapid, 
the  passage  being  narrow  between  artificially  con- 
structed embankments  of  rock;  *Tak#se,  or  'High 
Rapids ' ;  Shishi  no  Kuchi,  or  c  The  Lion's  Mouth  ' ; 
and  Tonase-daki  c  the  last  on  the  descent,  where  the 
river  rushes  between  numerous  rocks  and  islets.' ' 

Arashi-yama,  made  picturesque  by  its  hills  every- 
where covered  with  pine  trees,  its  plantations  of 
cherry  trees  which  are  said  to  have  been  brought 
from  Yoshino  in  the  thirteenth  century  by  the  Em- 
peror Kameyama,  and  its  justly  celebrated  maple 
groves,  was  an  appropriately  beautiful  spot  for  the 
termination  of  our  excursion.  After  taking  lunch- 
eon in  one  of  its  tea-houses, — my  first  meal,  squatted 
on  the  mats,  in  Japanese  style, — my  host  and  I  left 
the  rest  of  the  party  and  went  back  to  his  home  in 
the  city  by  jinrikishas.  On  the  way  we  stopped  at 
one  of  those  oldest,  smallest,  and  most  obscure  of 


34  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

ancient  temples,  which  so  often  in  Japan  are  over- 
looked by  the  tourist,  but  which  not  infrequently  are 
of  all  others  best  worth  the  visiting.  Here  the  mild- 
mannered,  sincere  old  priest  opened  everything 
freely  to  our  inspection,  lighted  the  tapers  and  re- 
plenished the  incense  sticks ;  and  even  allowed  us  the 
very  unusual  privilege  of  handling  the  sacred  things 
about  the  idols.  Finally,  putting  a  paper-covering 
over  his  mouth,  and  after  much  prayer,  he  ap- 
proached on  his  knees  the  "  holy  of  holies,"  drew 
aside  the  gilt  screens  and  showed  us  the  inner  shrine; 
and  he  then  took  out  the  shoes  belonging  to  the  god 
and  let  us  handle  and  admire  them. 

From  his  point  of  view,  the  pious  custodian  of  the 
sacred  relics  was  indulging  in  an  altogether  justifiable 
pride.  For  the  temple  of  Uzumasa  is  one  of  the 
oldest  in  Japan.  It  was  founded  in  A.  D.  604,  by 
Shotoku  Taishi,  the  Japanese  Constantine,  who  con- 
secrated it  to  Buddhist  gods  whose  images  had  been 
brought  from  Korea.  Although  the  original  build- 
ings were  burned  some  centuries  ago,  the  relics  and 
specimens  of  the  most  ancient  art  were  fortunately 
saved.  Nowhere  else  in  the  whole  country,  except 
at  Nara  or  Horyuji — and  there  only  to  those  who 
are  favoured  with  special  privileges  by  the  Govern- 
ment— can  such  a  multitude  of  these  things  be  seen 


DOWN    THE    KATSURA-GAWA    35 

and  studied.  The  antiquarian  interest  in  them  is 
just  now  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  many  of  them, 
although  called  Japanese,  were  really  made  either  in 
Korea  or  else  under  the  instruction  of  Korean  teach- 
ers. It  is  one  of  the  shiftings  of  human  history 
which  has  now  placed  upon  the  Japanese  the  respon- 
sibility of  instructing  in  every  kind  of  modern  art 
their  former  teachers. 

The  accessories  and  incidents  of  my  second  excur- 
sion to  the  rapids  of  the  Katsura-gawa  were  of  a 
totally  different  order.  The  day  was  in  early  March 
of  1907,  bright  and  beautiful,  but  somewhat  cool  for 
such  a  venture.  At  the  Nijo  station — for  one  could 
now  reach  the  upper  rapids  by  rail — my  wife  and  I 
met  President  Harada  and  one  of  the  lady  teachers 
of  Doshisha,  and  two  of  the  Professors  of  the  Im- 
perial University.  Passes  and  a  present  of  envelopes 
containing  a  number  of  pretty  picture  cards,  from 
the  Manager  of  the  Kyoto  Railway  Company,  were 
waiting  for  the  party.  The  ride  to  the  village  of 
Kameoka  was  pleasant,  although  even  the  earliest 
of  the  plum  blossoms  had  not  yet  appeared  to  beau- 
tify the  landscape. 

I  had  been  anticipating  a  day  of  complete  freedom 
for  recreation;  but  the  Christian  pastor  of  the  vil- 
lage, who  had  kindly  arranged  for  our  boat,  had 


36  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

with  equal  kindness  of  intention  toward  his  parish, 
betrayed  our  coming;  and  the  inevitable  under  such 
circumstances  happened.  The  usual  committee  of 
Mayor,  representatives  of  the  schools  and  others, 
were  at  the  station  to  welcome  us.  "  Could  I  not 
visit  the  Primary  School  and  say  a  few  words — just 
show  myself,  indeed — to  the  children  who  were  all 
waiting  eager  with  expectation?"  Of  course,  Yes: 
for  how  could  so  reasonable  a  request,  so  politely 
proffered,  be  reasonably  and  politely  denied?  Be- 
sides, the  children  were  encouraged  to  plant  and  care 
for  trees  about  the  school-buildings;  and  it  was 
greatly  desired  that  I  should  plant  one  to  commemo- 
rate our  visit.  Of  course,  again,  Yes.  Soon,  then, 
a  long  row  of  jinrikishas,  holding  both  hosts  and 
guests,  was  being  hurried  over  the  mile  or  more 
separating  the  station  from  the  nearest  school-build- 
ing. On  drawing  near  we  found  some  500  or  600 
children — first  the  boys  and  then  the  girls — ranged 
along  on  either  side  of  the  roadway;  and  between 
them,  all  bowing  as  they  are  carefully  trained  to  do 
in  Japanese  style  and  waving  flags  of  both  countries, 
we  passed,  until  we  were  discharged  at  the  door 
of  the  large  school-house  hall. 

After  luncheon   was    finished,    I    assisted   at   the 
planting  of  two  small  fir-trees  just  in   front  of  the 


DOWN    THE    KATSURA-GAWA    37 

building,  by  dropping  into  the  hole  the  first  two  or 
three  mattocks  full  of  earth.  We  were  then  con- 
ducted to  the  play-ground  near  by,  where  the  whole 
school  was  drawn  up  in  the  form  of  a  hollow  square. 
Here,  from  one  end  of  the  square,  I  spoke  to  the 
children  for  not  more  than  ten  minutes,  and  President 
Harada  interpreted;  after  which  the  head-master 
made  a  characteristically  poetical  response  by  way 
of  thanks, — saying  that  the  memory  of  the  visit  and 
the  impression  of  the  words  spoken  would  be  ever- 
green, like  the  tree  which  had  been  planted,  and  ex- 
pressing the  wish  that  the  future  long  lives  of  both 
their  guests  might  be  symbolised  by  the  life  of  the 
tree.  To  tend  these  trees  became  a  privilege  for 
which  the  pupils  of  the  school  have  since  kept  up 
a  friendly  rivalry. 

The  excursionists  were  quite  naturally  desirous  of 
getting  off  promptly  upon  the  postponed  pleasure 
trip ;  but  this  was  not  even  yet  easily  to  be  done.  For 
now  followed  the  request  to  visit  two  schools  of  the 
higher  grade  and  make  a  short  talk  to  the  pupils  in 
them.  I  compromised  on  the  condition  that  the  two 
should  be  gathered  into  the  same  assembly;  and  this 
was  cheerfully,  and  for  the  Japanese,  promptly  done. 
The  combined  audience  made  about  three-hundred 
of  each  sex — older  boys  and  girls — standing  close 


38  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

together,  one  on.  one  side  and  tRe  other  on  the  other 
side  of  the  room,  in  soldier-like  ranks,  facing  the 
speaker  with  curious  and  eager  eyes,  but  with  most 
exemplary  behaviour.  Again  I  spoke  for  ten  min- 
utes; after  which  followed  the  interpretation  and  the 
address  of  thanks  and  of  promise  to  remember  and 
put  into  practice  the  speaker's  injunctions. 

At  the  termination  of  this  ceremony,  I  said — • 
I  fear  a  little  abruptly— -"  Arigato "  ("Thank 
you")  and  " Sayonara"  ("Good-bye")  and 
started  to  go.  But  I  was  brought  to  a  halt  by  the 
suggestive,  "Dozo,  chotto"  ("In  a  moment, 
please")  and  then  asked  to  give  the  boys  of  the 
school  a  chance  to  precede  us  to  the  river  bank  on 
foot,  from  which  they  wished  to  see  us  off  and  to  bid 
us  a  Japanese  good-bye.  And  who  that  knows  what 
a  Japanese  "  good-bye,"  when  genuine  and  hearty, 
really  is,  would  not  give  more  than  a  single  little  mo- 
ment, at  almost  any  juncture,  to  be  the  recipient  of 
one?  The  boys,  thereupon,  filed  out  in  good  mili- 
tary fashion;  and  after  giving  them  a  fair  start,  we 
took  our  jinrikishas  again  and  were  carried  to  the 
river's  bank.  It  was  still  some  little  time  before  the 
boat  was  ready;  and  then  the  party,  seated  on  the 
blankets  and  secured  against  the  cold  by  a  covering 
of  rugs,  accompanied  by  the  pastor  and  one  of  the 


DOWN    THE    KATSURA-GAWA    39 

teachers  as  an  escort,  started  down  the  river.  Sev- 
eral hundred  yards  below  our  starting  point,  the 
three-hundred  school  boys  stood  in  single  file  along 
the  bank,  and  continued  to  "banzai"  in  their  best 
style  until  a  turn  in  the  river  hid  them  from  our 
sight. 

I  have  dwelt  at  such  length  on  this  seemingly  triv- 
ial incident,  because  I  should  be  glad  to  give  an  ade- 
quate impression  of  the  influence  of  the  lower  grades 
of  the  public  schools  of  Japan  in  inculcating  lessons 
of  order  and  politeness  upon  the  children  of  the  na- 
tion; and  in  this  way  preparing  them,  for  fitting  in 
well  with  the  existing  social  order  and  for  obedience 
to  the  sovereign  authority  of  the  Emperor,  of  their 
parents,  and  in  general  of  their  elders.  The  com- 
mon impression  that  Japanese  babies  are  born  so  lit- 
tle nervous  or  so  good-natured  that  they  never  cry, 
is  indeed  far  enough  from  the  truth.  They  do  cry, 
as  all  healthy  babies  should,  when  hurt  or  'when 
grieved;  or,  with  particular  vehemence,  when  mad. 
They  are  almost  without  exception  injudiciously  in- 
dulged by  their  parents,  their  nurses,  and  in  truth  by 
everybody  else.  But  from  the  time  the  boy  or  girl 
begins  to  attend  school,  an  astonishing  change  takes 
place.  How  far  this  change  is  due  to  the  influence 
of  the  teacher's  instruction  and  example,  and  how 


40  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

far  to  the  spirit  and  practice  of  the  older  pupils,  it  is 
perhaps  not  easy  to  say.  But,  in  school,  both  sexes 
are  immediately  placed  under  a  close-fitting  system 
of  physical  and  intellectual  drill.  Thus  the  pride  and 
ambition  of  all  are  called  out  by  the  effort  to  succeed 
and  to  excel.  The  Imperial  rescripts,  the  wise  say- 
ings and  noble  achievements  of  ancient  sages  and 
heroes,  the  arousement  of  that  spirit  which  is  called 
"  Bushido n  or  "  Yamato-Damashii,"  the  appeal  to 
the  pride  and  love  of  country,  and  instruction  in  eth- 
ics— as  the  Japanese  understand  ethics — prolonged 
from  the  kindergarten  to  the  University; — all  these 
means  are  employed  in  the  public  system  of  educa- 
tion with  the  intention  of  producing  citizens  service- 
able to  the  State.  They  are  all  needed  in  the  effort 
of  the  Government  to  control  the  ferment  of  new 
ideas  and  the  pressure  of  the  new  forces  which  are 
shaping  the  future  commercial,  political,  and  social 
life  of  the  nation,  perhaps  too  rapidly  for  its  own 
good. 

For  the  interested  and  sympathetic  teacher  of  chil- 
dren there  are  no  more  delightful  experiences  than 
may  be  had  by  visiting  and  observing  the  primary 
grades  of  the  public  schools  of  Japan.  I  have  had 
the  pleasure  of  speaking  to  several  thousands  of  their 
pupils.  At  the  summons,  the  boys  would  come  fil- 


DOWN    THE    KATSURA-GAWA    41 

ing  in  on  one  side,  and  the  girls  on  the  other  side, 
of  the  large  assembly  room  with  which  every  well- 
appointed  school-house  is  now  being  provided;  and 
as  quietly  as  drilled  and  veteran  soldiers  they  would 
form  themselves  into  a  compacted  phalanx  of  the 
large  style  of  ancient  Macedonia.  Six  hundred  pairs 
of  bright  black  eyes  are  then  gazing  steadily  and  un- 
flinchingly, but  with  a  quiet  and  engaging  respectful- 
ness, into  the  eyes  of  the  speaker.  And  if  his  ex- 
perience is  like  my  own,  he  will  never  see  the  slightest 
sign  of  inattention,  impatience,  or  disorder,  on  the 
part  of  a  single  one  of  his  childish  auditors.  Fur- 
ther, as  to  the  effect  of  this  upon  the  older  boys  when 
out  of  school :  Although  I  have  been  in  a  consider- 
able number  of  places,  both  in  the  cities  and  in  the 
country  places  of  Japan,  I  have  never  seen  two  Jap- 
anese boys  quarrelling  or  even  behaving  rudely 
toward  each  other  so  far  as  their  language  was  con- 
cerned. The  second  item  of  "  advice  "  in  the  "  Im- 
perial Rescript  to  the  Army  and  Navy,"  which  pre- 
cedes even  the  exhortation — "  It  is  incumbent  on 
soldiers  to  be  brave  and  courageous  " — reads  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Soldiers  must  be  polite  in  their  behaviour 
and  ways.  In  the  army  and  navy,  there  are  hierarch- 
ical ranks  from  the  Marshal  to  the  private  or  blue- 
jacket which  bind  together  the  whole  for  purposes 


42  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

of  command,  and  there  are  the  gradations  of  senior- 
ity within  the  same  rank.  The  junior  must  obey  the 
senior;  the  inferior  must  take  orders  from  the  supe- 
rior, who  transmits  them  to  Our  direct  command; 
and  inferior  and  junior  officers  and  men  must  pay  re- 
spect to  their  superiors  and  seniors,  even  though  they 
be  not  their  direct  superiors  and  seniors.  Superiors 
must  never  be  haughty  and  proud  toward  those  of 
lower  rank,  and  severity  of  discipline  must  be  re- 
served for  exceptional  cases.  In  all  other  cases 
superiors  must  treat  those  beneath  them  with  kind- 
ness and  especial  clemency,  so  that  all  men  may  unite 
as  one  man  in  the  service  of  the  country.  If  you  do 
not  observe  courtesy  of  behaviour,  if  inferiors  treat 
their  superiors  with  disrespect,  or  superiors  their  in- 
feriors with  harshness,  if,  in  a  word,  the  harmonious 
relations  between  superiors  and  inferiors  be  lost,  you 
will  be  not  only  playing  havoc  with  the  army,  but 
committing  serious  crimes  against  the  country." 

The  success  in  blending  courage  with  courtesy, 
bravery  with  politeness,  which  this  way  of  disciplin- 
ing the  youth  of  the  country  may  attain,  and  actually 
has  attained  in  Japan,  is  a  complete  refutation  of  the 
silly  notion — so  common,  alas!  in  Anglo-Saxon  and, 
Christian  lands,  that  haughtiness  in  "  superiors " 
and  insolence  in  "  inferiors,"  together  with  the 


DOWN    THE    KATSURA-GAWA    43 

readiness  to  fight  one's  fellows  with  fists,  swords,  or 
pistols,  is  a  necessary  part  of  a  soldier's  prepara- 
tion for  the  most  successful  resistance  to  the  enemies 
of  one's  country.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  more 
impressive  lessons  regarding  the  effects  produced  by 
different  systems  of  education  upon  different  racial 
characteristics  than  that  afforded  by  the  following 
two  incidents.  For  some  weeks  in  the  Autumn  of 
1899  I  occupied  a  house  in  Tokyo,  from  the  rooms 
of  which  nearly  everything  going  on  in  one  of  the 
large  public  schools  of  the  city  could  be  either  over- 
heard or  overlooked.  But  not  once  did  a  harsh 
word  or  a  loud  cry  reach  our  ears,  or  a  rude  and  im- 
polite action  our  eyes.  But  during  a  residence  of  a 
fortnight  in  similar  proximity  to  one  of  the  best 
Christian  colleges  of  India,  there  was  scarcely  an 
hour  of  the  school  day  when  some  seemingly  serious 
uproar  was  not  in  evidence  in  the  room  beneath  our 
window.  And  it  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  ob- 
serve both  pupil  and  tea-cher  standing  on  their  feet 
and  vociferously  "  sassing  "  each  other, — with  one 
or  more  of  the  other  pupils  occasionally  chiming  in. 
More  suggestive  of  vital  differences,  however,  is  an- 
other experience  of  mine.  Toward  the  close  of  the 
Russo-Japanese  war  a  Japanese  pupil,  a  Buddhist 
priest,  who  had  fought  in  the  Chino- Japanese  war 


44  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

and  had  been  decorated  for  his  bravery,  had  been 
called  out  into  the  "  reserves."  A  letter  received 
from  him  while  his  regiment  was  still  waiting  to  be 
ordered  to  the  front,  after  telling  how  he  had  left 
the  school  for  "  temple-boys,"  which  he  had 
founded  on  his  return  from  his  studies  in  this  coun- 
try, and  of  which  he  was  the  Dean,  added  these  preg- 
nant words:  "  Pray  for  us,  that  we  may  have  suc- 
cess and  victory."  Now  it  so  happened  that  almost 
the  same  mail  which  brought  this  letter,  carried  to 
another  member  of  my  family  a  letter  from  a  Chris- 
tian Hindu,  who  had  come  to  this  country  for  theo- 
logical study.  In  this  letter,  too,  there  was  an  ap- 
peal to  our  pious  sympathy;  but  it  took  the  following 
form:  "  Pray  for  me,  that  I  may  be  able  to  bear 
the  cold."  Surely,  Great  Britain  need  not  fear  an 
uprising  of  the  "intellectuals"  in  India,  so  long  as 
its  babus  are  educated  in  such  manner  as  to  foster  so 
unenduring  character,  however  gifted  in  philosophi- 
cal speculation  and  eloquence  of  speech. 

The  system  of  education  now  established  in  Japan, 
both  in  its  Universities  and  in  its  public  schools,  has 
still  many  weaknesses  and  deficiencies,  and  some 
glaring  faults.  Nor  are  Japanese  boys,  especially 
when  they  have  grown  older  and  become  more  wise 
in  their  own  eyes,  always  agreeable  to  their  teachers, 


DOWN    THE    KATSURA-GAWA    45 

or  easy  to  manage  and  to  instruct.  But  of  all  this 
we  may  perhaps  conclude  to  speak  at  another  time. 
This  at  any  rate  is  certain :  There  are  few  memories 
in  the  life-time  of  at  least  one  American  teacher, 
which  he  more  gladly  recalls,  and  more  delights  to 
cherish,  than  those  which  signalise  his  many  meet- 
ings with  the  school  children  of  Japan:  and  among 
them  all,  not  the  least  pleasant  is  that  of  the  three 
hundred  boys  of  Kameoka,  standing  in  a  row  upon 
the  banks  of  the  Katsura-gawa  and  shouting  their 
"  banzais  "  to  the  departing  boat. 

And,  indeed,  having  already  described  with  suffi- 
cient fulness  how  one  runs  the  rapids,  admires  the 
banks,  perhaps  visits  a  shrine  or  a  tea-house  on  the 
way,  and  arrives  in  safety  to  find  refreshment  and 
rest  at  Arashi-yama,  there  is  nothing  more  worth 
saying  to  be  said  on  the  subject. 


CHAPTER    III 

CLIMBING  ASAMA-YAMA 

BETWEEN  a  series  of  addresses  which  I  had  been 
giving  in  his  church,  in  early  July  of  1892,  in  Tokyo, 
and  the  opening  of  work  at  the  summer-school  at 
Hakone,  Mr.  T.  Yokoi  and  I  planned  an  excursion 
of  a  few  days  to  the  mountainous  region  in  the  in- 
terior northward  of  the  Capital  City.  The  ad- 
dresses had  been  on  topics  in  philosophy — chiefly  the 
Philosophy  of  Religion.  The  weather  proved  as 
uncomfortable  and  debilitating  as  Japanese  summer 
weather  can  easily  be.  In  spite  of  this,  however, 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  with  few  excep- 
tions from  the  student  classes,  had  been  constant  in  at- 
tendance and  interest  to  the  very  end;  and  I  was 
asking  myself  where  else  in  the  world  under  similar 
discouraging  circumstances,  such  an  audience  for 
such  a  subject  could  readily  be  secured. 

The  evening  before  we  were  to  set  out  upon  our 
trip,  I  was  given  a  dinner  in  the  apartments  of  one 
of  the  temples  in  the  suburbs  of  Tokyo.  The  whole 
entertainment  was  characteristic  of  old-fashioned 
Japanese  ideals  of  the  most  refined  hospitality;  a 

46 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      47 

brief  description  of  what  took  place  may  therefore 
help  to  correct  any  impression  that  the  posturing  of 
geisha  girls  and  the  drinking  of  quantities  of  hot 
sake  is  the  only  way  in  which  the  cultivated  gentle- 
men of  Japan  know  how  to  amuse  themselves.  As 
the  principal  feature  of  entertainment  on  this  occa- 
sion, an  artist  of  local  reputation,  who  worked  with 
water-colours,  had  been  called  to  the  assistance  of 
the  hosts;  and  we  all  spent  a  most  pleasant  and  in- 
structive hour  or  two,  seated  on  the  mats  around  him 
and  watching  the  skill  of  his  art  in  rapid  designing 
and  executing.  The  kakemonos  thus  produced  were 
then  presented  to  the  principal  guest  as  souvenirs  of 
the  occasion.  The  artistic  skill  of  this  old  gentle- 
man was  not  indeed  equal  to  his  enthusiasm.  But  on 
later  visits  to  Japan  I  have  enjoyed  the  benefits  of 
both  observation  and  possession,  in  instances  where 
the  art  exhibited  has  been  of  a  much  higher  order. 
For  example,  at  a  dinner  given  by  my  Japanese  pub- 
lishers to  Mrs.  Ladd  and  me,  we  witnessed  what  has 
since  seemed  to  both  of  us  a  most  astonishing  feat  of 
cultivated  aesthetical  dexterity.  The  son  of  one  of 
the  more  celebrated  artists  of  Japan  at  that  time 
(1899),  himself  a  workman  of  much  more  than  lo- 
cal reputation,  had  aft-er  some  hesitation  been  secured 
to  give  an  exhibition  of  his  skill  at  free-hand  drawing 


48          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

in  water-colours.  When  two  or  three  designs  of  his 
own  suggestion  had  been  executed,  in  not  more  than 
ten  minutes  each,  the  artist  asked  to  have  the  subjects 
for  the  other  designs  suggested  for  him.  Among 
these  suggestions,  he  was  requested  to  paint  a  lotus; 
and  this  was  his  answer  to  the  request.  Selecting  a 
brush  somewhat  more  than  two  inches  in  width,  he 
wet  three  sections  of  its  edge  with  as  many  different 
colours,  and  then  with  one  sweep  of  hand  and  wrist, 
and  without  removing  the  brush  from  the  paper,  he 
drew  the  complete  cup  of  a  large  lotus — its  curved 
outlines  clearly  defined  and  beautifully  shaped,  and 
the  shading  of  the  inside  of  the  cup  made  faithful 
to  nature  by  the  unequal  pressure  of  the  brush  as  it 
glided  over  the  surface  of  the  paper. 

After  the  dinner,  which  followed  upon  the  display 
of  the  painter's  skill,  and  which  was  served  by  the 
temple  servants,  the  entire  party  divided  into  groups 
or  pairs  and  strolled  in  the  moonlight  through  the 
gardens  which  lay  behind  the  temple  buildings.  The 
topic  of  talk  introduced  by  the  Japanese  friend  with 
whom  I  was  paired  off  carried  our  thought  back  to 
the  quiet  and  peaceful  life  lived  in  this  same  garden 
by  the  monks  in  ancient  days;  and  not  by  the  monks 
only,  but  also  by  the  daimyos  and  generals  who  were 
glad,  after  the  fretful  time  of  youth  was  over,  to 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      49 

spend  their  later  and  latest  days  in  leisurely  contem- 
plation. In  general,  in  the  "  Old  Japan,"  the  father 
of  the  family  was  tempted  to  exercise  his  right  of 
retiring  from  active  life  before  the  age  of  fifty,  and 
of  laying  off  upon  the  eldest  son  the  duty  of  support- 
ing the  family  and  even  of  paying  the  debts  which 
the  father  might  have  contracted.  But  it  was,  and 
still  is,  a  partial  compensation  for  this  custom  of 
seeking  early  relief  from  service,  that  the  Japanese, 
and  the  Oriental  world  generally,  recognise  and 
honour  better  than  we  are  apt  to  do,  the  need  of 
every  human  soul  to  a  certain  amount  of  rest,  rec- 
reation, and  time  for  meditation. 

The  entertainment  over,  and  the  uneaten  portion 
of  each  guest's  food  neatly  boxed  and  placed  under 
the  seat  of  his  jinrikisha  for  distribution  among  his 
servants  on  the  home-coming,  I  was  taken  back  to 
my  lodgings  through  streets  as  brilliantly  lighted  as 
lanterns  and  coal-oil  lamps  can  well  do,  and  crowded 
with  a  populace  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  who  were 
spending  the  greater  part  of  the  night  in  the  celebra- 
tion of  a  local  religious  festival.  The  necessity  of 
sitting  up  still  later  in  order  to  write  letters  for  the 
mail  which  left  by  the  steamer  next  day,  and  of  ris- 
ing at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  to  take  an  early 
train  from  a  distant  station,  did  not  afford  the  best 


50          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

physical  preparation  for  the  hardships  which  were  to 
be  endured  during  the  two  or  three  days  following. 
It  was  on  applying  for  a  ticket  to  Yokogawa, 
which  was  as  far  toward  the  foot  of  Asama-yama 
from  Tokyo  as  the  railway  could  take  one  in  those 
days,  that  I  experienced  the  only  bit  of  annoying  in- 
terference with  my  movements  which  I  have  ever  met 
with,  when  travelling  in  Japan.  But  this  was  in  the 
days  of  passports  and  strict  governmental  regulations 
for  the  conduct  of  foreigners  and  of  natives  in  their 
treatment  of  foreigners.  These  regulations  required 
that  all  tourists  who  wished  to  visit  places  beyond  ten 
ri,  or  about  twenty-four  and  a  half  miles,  distant 
from  some  treaty-port,  must  obtain  passports  from 
the  Japanese  Government  by  application  through  the 
diplomatic  representative  of  the  country  to  which 
they  belonged.  The  purpose  of  the  proposed  tour 
must  be  expressly  stated;  and  it  must  be  one  of  these 
two  purposes, — either  "  for  scientific  information  " 
or  "  for  the  benefit  of  the  health."  The  exact  route 
over  which  it  was  proposed  to  travel  must  also  be 
stated,  and  the  length  of  time  for  which  the  permis- 
sion was  desired.  Applications  for  more  than  three 
months  were  likely  to  be  refused.  It  was,  further, 
the  duty  of  every  keeper  of  an  inn  or  tea-house 
where  a  foreign  traveller  wished  to  pass  the  night,  to 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      51 

take  up  the  passport  and  hand  it  over  to  the  local 
police  for  inspection  and  for  safe  keeping  until  the  de- 
parture of  his  guest.  The  strictness  of  the  compliance 
with  these  regulations,  however,  differed  in  different 
places;  and  nowhere  did  they  serve  to  destroy  or 
greatly  to  restrict  the  kindness  and  hospitable  feel- 
ings of  the  common  people.  For  example,  I  recall 
the  pathetic  story  of  a  missionary,  who  had  lost  his 
way,  and  having  become  so  exhausted  that  he  felt  he 
could  not  take  another  step,  applied  for  shelter  dur- 
ing the  night  in  the  hut  of  a  peasant  family.  The 
man  did  not  dare  to  break  the  law  which  forbade 
him  to  harbour  the  foreign  stranger;  but  he  offered, 
and  actually  undertook  to  carry  on  his  back  the  tired 
missionary,  to  the  nearest  place  where  he  could  ob- 
tain legal  entertainment! 

Some  weeks  before,  after  a  visit  in  company  with 
a  missionary  friend  and  his  family  to  the  Shinto 
temples  at  Ise,  we  had  all  turned  aside  for  a  night 
of  rest  at  the  charming  sea-side  resort  of  Futami. 
The  other  members  of  the  family  felt  quite  at  their 
ease,  for  they  were  armed  with  their  passports  for 
the  summer  vacation;  not  so,  however,  the  gentle- 
man who  was  the  family's  head  and  guardian  and 
my  interpreter.  For  he  was  without  the  necessary 
legal  permission  to  pass  the  night  away  from  home; 


52          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

while  the  day's  journey  of  thirty  miles  in  a  basha 
without  springs  made  the  prospect  of  a  return  jour- 
ney that  same  night  anything  but  desirable  to  con- 
template. But  the  issue  was  happy;  for  the  large 
number  of  passports  furnished  by  the  entire  party 
and  duly  made  over  to  the  police  by  our  host  seemed 
to  prove  a  sufficient  covering  for  us  all.  And  we 
had  come  off  victorious  in  another  battle  with  legal 
restrictions, — a  battle  royal  between  the  maids,  who 
at  the  risk  of  suffocation  to  human  beings,  insisted  on 
obeying  the  law  by  shutting  tight  the  amado,  or 
wooden  sliding  doors  which  formed  the  outside  of 
our  sleeping  apartments,  and  the  human  beings, 
who  rather  than  be  suffocated,  were  willing  to  break 
the  law;  since,  at  best,  a  modicum  of  uneasy  sleep 
was  to  be  obtained  only  in  this  way.  But  such 
petty  annoyances  are  now  forgotten;  and  nowhere 
else  in  the  world  is  travel  freer  and  more  of  kindly 
pains  taken  by  all  classes  to  make  it  comfortable  and 
interesting,  than  in  the  Japan  of  the  present  day. 

The  policeman  at  the  station  being  in  time  satis- 
fied with  the  legitimacy  of  the  foreigner's  purpose  to 
get  where  he  could  ascend  Asama-yama,  both  for 
purposes  of  scientific  information  and  for  his  health^ 
my  friend  and  I  took  the  train  for  Yokogawa.  The 
railway  journey  was  without  incident  or  special  in- 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      53 

terest.  At  that  date  there  was  a  break  ot  about 
seven  miles  in  the  Nakasendo,  or  "  Central  Moun- 
tain Road," — the  grading  and  tunnelling  being  far 
from  complete  between  Yokohawa  and  Karuizawa, 
from  which  point  we  intended  to  make  the  ascent  of 
the  mountain.  Although  the  Nakasendo  seems  to 
have  been  originally  constructed  early  in  the  eighth 
century,  since  it  traverses  mountainous  and  sparsely 
cultivated  districts,  remote  from  populous  centres, 
good  accommodations  for  travellers  were  at  that 
time  (1892)  not  to  be  had.  At  present,  Karuizawa 
is  one  of  the  principal  summer  resorts  of  all  this  part 
of  Japan;  and  several  thousands  of  visitors  congre- 
gate there  annually.  Travel  by  jinrikisha  up  this 
mountain  pass  was  then  difficult  and  expensive,  and 
we  wished  to  save  both  strength  and  time  for  our 
walk  of  the  following  day.  We  had,  therefore,  only 
the  tram  as  a  remaining  choice.  In  the  nearly  twelve 
miles  of  tram-way  there  were  scarcely  twenty  rods 
of  straight  track;  and  the  ascent  to  be  made 
amounted  to  some  2,000  feet  in  all.  Yet  the  miser- 
able horses  which  drew  the  small  car  were  whipped 
into  a  run  almost  the  entire  way.  The  car  itself  re- 
sembled a  diminutive  den  for  wild  beasts,  such  as 
menageries  use  in  their  street  parades,  although  far 
less  commodious  or  elegant.  It  was  designed  to  hold 


54          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

twelve  passengers;  but  this  complement  could  possi- 
bly be  got  in,  only  if  the  passengers  were  uniformly 
of  small  size  and  submitted  to  the  tightest  kind  of 
packing.  By  sitting  up  as  straight  as  I  could,  and 
sandwiching  my  legs  in  between  the  legs  of  the  Jap- 
anese fellow-traveller  on  the  opposite  side,  it  was 
barely  possible  to  bring  my  thigh  bones  within  the 
limits  of  the  width  allowed  by  the  car.  Plainly 
this  vehicle  was  not  planned  to  accommodate  the 
man  of  foreign  dimensions.  As  we  swayed  around 
the  perpetually  recurring  curves  of  the  narrow  track, 
it  was  rather  difficult  to  avoid  slight  feelings  of  nerv- 
ousness; and  these  were  not  completely  allayed  by 
being  assured  that  accidents  did  not  happen  so  very 
often;  nor,  more  especially,  by  the  sight  of  a  horse 
and  cart  which  had  plunged  off  the  roadway  to  the 
valley  forty  or  more  feet  below,  where  the  animal 
lay  dying  and  surrounded  by  a  little  crowd  of  those 
calm  and  inactive  spectators  who,  in  Japan,  are  so 
accustomed  to  regard  all  similar  events  as  shikata-ga- 
nai  (or  things  which  cannot  be  helped).  We  ar- 
rived, however,  at  Shin  (or  New)  Karuizawa, 
somewhat  jumbled  and  bruised,  but  in  safety;  and 
here  we  at  once  took  jinrikishas  for  the  older  place 
of  the  same  name. 

Asama-yama  is  the  largest  now  continuously  active 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      55 

volcano  in  Japan.  Its  last  great  and  very  destruc- 
tive eruption  was  in  the  summer  of  1783,  when  a 
vast  stream  of  lava  destroyed  a  considerable  extent 
of  primeval  forest  and  buried  several  villages,  es- 
pecially on  the  north  side  of  the  mountain.  Over 
most  of  this  area  the  villages  have  never  been  rebuilt. 
Even  the  plain  across  which  we  rode  between  the  two 
Karuizawas,  and  which  lies  to  the  southeast,  is  com- 
posed of  volcanic  ash  and  scorise;  and  since  1892, 
stones  of  considerable  size  have  often  been  thrown 
into  the  yards  of  the  villas  inhabited  by  the  summer 
visitors  in  this  region.  Yet  more  recently,  there  have 
been  exhibitions  of  the  tremendous  destructive  forces 
which  are  only  biding  their  time  within  the  concealed 
depths  of  this  most  strenuous  of  Japan's  volcanos. 
On  the  south  side  of  the  mountain  rise  two  steep 
rocky  walls,  some  distance  apart,  the  outer  one  be- 
ing lower  and  partly  covered  with  vegetation.  It  is 
thought  by  geologists  that  these  are  the  remains  of 
two  successive  concentric  craters;  and  therefore  that 
the  present  cone  is  the  third  of  Asama-yama's  vent- 
holes  for  its  ever-active  inner  forces. 

It  had  been  our  intention  to  follow  what  the 
guide-book  described  as  the  "  best  plan  "  for  making 
the  ascent  of  the  volcano;  and  this  was  to  take 
horses  from  the  old  village  of  Karuizawa,  where  it 


S6          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

was  said  foreign  saddles  might  be  procured,  ride 
to  Ko-Asama,  and  then  walk  up  by  a  path  of 
cinders,  described  as  steep  but  good  and  solid,  and 
plainly  marked  at  intervals  by  small  cairns.  First 
inquiry,  however,  did  not  succeed  in  getting  any 
trace  of  suitable  horses,  not  to  mention  the  highly 
desirable  equipment  of  "  foreign  saddles."  After 
taking  a  late  and  scanty  luncheon  in  a  tea-house 
which  for  Japan,  even  in  the  most  remote  country 
places,  seemed  unusually  dirty  and  disreputable,  we 
went  out  in  further  search  of  the  equipment  for  the 
climb  of  the  next  day.  On  emerging  from  the  tea- 
house, right  opposite  its  door,  we  came  upon  a 
gentleman  in  a  jinrikisha,  who  was  a  traveller 
from  America — a  much  rarer  sight  in  those  parts 
twenty  years  ago  than  at  the  present  time.  Saluta- 
tions and  inquiries  as  to  "Where  from  "  and  "  What 
about,"  were  quickly  interchanged  as  a  matter  of 
course.  It  turned  out  that  we  were  making  the 
acquaintance  of  the  father  of  one  of  the  Canadian 
missionaries,  who  was  visiting  his  son  and  who  was 
at  that  very  instant  on  his  way  to  the  station  to  take 
train  to  Komoro,  a  village  some  fourteen  miles  over 
the  pass,  from  which  that  night  a  party  of  ten  or 
twelve  were  planning  to  ascend  Asama-yama  by 
moonlight.  Permission  was  asked  and  cordially 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 

;£^iFO*f*& 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      57 

given  for  us  to  become  members  of  this  party;  and 
the  gentleman  in  the  jinrikisha  then  went  on  his  way 
as  rapidly  as  the  rather  decrepit  vehicle  and  its  run- 
ner could  convey  him. 

As  for  us,  all  our  energies  were  now  bent  on 
catching  that  train ;  for  it  was  the  last  one  of  the  day 
and  it  was  certain  that  our  plans  could  not  easily 
be  carried  out  from  the  point  of  starting  where  we 
then  were.  Our  belongings  were  hastily  thrust  into 
the  bags  and  a  hurry  call  issued  for  jinrikishas  to 
take  us  to  the  station.  But  our  new  acquaintance 
had  gone  off  in  the  only  jinrikisha  available  in  the 
whole  village  of  Karuizawa.  What  was  to  be 
done?  A  sturdy  old  woman  volunteered  her  assist- 
ance; and  some  of  the  luggage  having  been  mounted 
on  a  frame  on  her  back,  we  grabbed  the  remainder 
and  started  upon  a  sort  of  dog-trot  across  the  ashy 
plain  which  separated  the  tea-house  by  more  than  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  the  railway  station.  As  we 
came  in  sight  of  the  train,  the  variety  of  signals 
deemed  necessary  to  announce  by  orderly  stages  the 
approach  of  so  important  an  event  gave  notice  to 
both  eyes  and  ears  that  it  was  proposing  soon  to 
start  down  the  mountain  pass;  and  if  it  once  got 
fairly  started,  the  nature  of  the  grade  would  make 
it  more  difficult  either  to  stop  or  to  overtake  it.  My 


58  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

friend^  therefore,  ran  forward  gesticulating  and 
calling  out;  while  I  assisted  the  old  woman  with 
the  burdens  and  gave  her  wages  and  tips  without 
greatly  slackening  our  pace.  The  railway  trains 
of  that  earlier  period,  especially  in  country  places, 
were  more  accommodating  than  is  possible  with  the 
largely  increased  traffic  of  to-day;  and  the  addition 
of  two  to  the  complement  of  passengers  was  more 
important  than  it  would  be  at  present.  And  so  we 
arrived,  breathless  but  well  pleased,  and  were  in- 
troduced to  several  ladies  in  the  compartment,  who 
belonged  to  the  party  which  proposed  to  make  the 
ascension  together. 

The  route  from  Karuizawa  to  Komoro  is  a  part 
of  what  is  considered  by  the  guide-book  of  that 
period,  "  on  the  whole  the  most  picturesque  railway 
route  in  Japan."  The  first  half  is,  indeed,  com- 
paratively uninteresting;  but  when  the  road  begins 
to  wind  around  the  southern  slope  of  Asama-yama, 
the  character  of  the  scenery  changes  rapidly.  Here 
is  the  water-shed  where  all  the  drainage  of  the 
great  mountain  pours  down  through  deep  gullies  into 
rivers  which  flow  either  northward  into  the  Sea  of 
Japan  or  southward  into  the  Pacific.  From  the 
height  of  the  road-bed,  the  traveller  looks  down 
upon  paddy-fields  lying  far  below.  The  mountain 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      59 

itself  changes  its  apparent  shape  and  its  colouring. 
The  flat  top  of  the  cone  lengthens  out;  it  now  be- 
comes evident  that  Asama  is  not  isolated,  but  is  the 
last  and  highest  of  a  range  of  mountains.  The 
pinkish  brown  colouring  of  the  sides  assumes  a 
blackish  hue ;  and  chasms  rough  with*  indurated  lava 
break  up  into  segments  which  follow  the  regularity 
of  the  slopes  on  which  they  lie. 

Komoro,  the  village  at  which  we  arrived  just  as 
the  daylight  was  giving  out,  was  formerly  the  seat 
of  a  daimyo;  but  it  has  now  turned  the  picturesque 
castle-grounds  which  overhang  the  river  into  a  pub- 
lic garden.  It  boasted  of  considerable  industries  in 
the  form  of  the  manufacture  of  saddlery,  vehicles, 
and  tools  and  agricultural  implements.  But  its 
citizens  I  found  at  that  time  more  rude,  inhospi- 
table, and  uncivilised  than  those  I  have  ever  since 
encountered  anywhere  else  in  Japan.  Our  first 
application  for  entertainment  at  an  inn  was  gruffly 
refused;  but  we  were  taken  in  by  another  host, 
whom  we  afterwards  found  to  have  all  the  silly  dis- 
honest tricks  by  which  the  worst  class  of  inn-keepers 
used  formerly  to  impose  upon  foreigners. 

The  plan  agreed  upon  for  the  ascent  was  to  start 
at  ten  in  the  evening,  make  the  journey  by  moonlight, 
and  so  arrive  at  the  mountain's  top  in  time  to  see  the 


60  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

volcanic  fires  before  dawn  but  after  the  moon  had 
gone  down;  and  then,  still  later,  the  wide-spreading 
landscape  at  sunrise.  Six  horses  were  ordered  for 
those  of  the  party  who  preferred  to  ride  the  distance 
of  nearly  thirteen  miles  which  lay  between  the  inn 
and  the  foot  of  the  cone;  while  the  other  five — four 
of  the  younger  men  and  one  young  woman — deemed 
themselves  hardy  enough  to  walk  the  entire  way. 
As  the  event  proved,  a  walk  of  twenty-five  miles, 
half  of  it  steeply  up  hill,  followed  by  a  climb  of 
two  thousand  feet  of  ash  cone,  while  not  a  great 
"  stunt "  for  trained  mountaineers,  is  no  easy  thing 
for  the  ordinary  pedestrian. 

The  horses  had  been  ordered  to  be  in  front  of 
the  inn  not  later  than  ten  o'clock.  And  at  that  hour 
we  all  began  to  put  on  our  shoes  and  otherwise  make 
preparations  for  a  start  at  the  appointed  time.  But 
who  in  those  days,  or  even  now,  unless  it  be  by  rail- 
way train,  in  Japan  would  reasonably  expect  to  start 
anywhere  at  precisely  the  appointed  time?  At  ten, 
at  eleven,  and  at  midnight,  still  the  horses  had  not 
come.  At  the  later  hour,  the  pedestrians  of  the 
party  made  a  start,  bidding  the  others  a  pleasant 
and  somewhat  exasperating  good-byes  and  exhorting 
them  to  bring  along  the  luncheon  baskets  in  time  for 
to-morrow  morning's  breakfast.  An  angry  messenger 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      61 

despatched  to  the  head-quarters  of  the  "master  of 
the  horse,"  brought  back  the  soothing  message  that 
men  had  some  time  before  been  sent  into  the  fields 
to  gather  in  the  animals,  which  had  been  at  work 
all  day;  and  that  they  certainly  would  be  forth- 
coming— tadaiama.  Now  the  word  "  tadaiama "  for 
the  inexperienced  is  supposed  to  mean  immediately 
(although  jikini  or  "in  a  jiffy"  is  really  the  more 
encouraging  phrase)  ;  but  the  initiated  know  full 
well  that  no  definitely  limited  period  is  intended  by 
either  word.  At  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  still  the 
horses  had  not  arrived.  At  this  hour,  therefore,  a 
more  sharp  reprimand  and  imperative  order  was  sent 
to  the  stables;  and  the  same  promising  answer  was 
returned.  At  two  o'clock  the  same  performance  was 
repeated,  with  this  difference  that  now  the  story 
ran:  A  second  detachment  of  men  had  been  sent 
out  by  the  master  of  the  horse;  and  they  would 
surely  return  with  both  men  and  horses — "tadai- 
ama." 

During  these  four  hours  I  had  been  lying  on 
the  outer  platform  of  the  tea-house,  fighting  mos- 
quitoes, and  trying  to  get  snatches  of  sleep;  since 
my  quota  of  this  sort  of  preparation  for  a  stiff 
day's  work  had  been  only  three  hours  during  the 
last  forty-eight.  A  crowd  of  villagers,  of  all  sorts 


62          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

and  sizes,  had  gathered  in  front  of  the  platform, 
which,  of  course,  was  open  to  the  street,  and  were 
fixedly  gazing  at  the  foreigner  with  that  silent  and 
unappeased  curiosity  which  need  seriously  offend  no 
one  who  understands  its  motive  and  the  purpose  it 
is  intended  to  serve.  One  of  the  village  wags  and 
loafers  was  continuously  and  monotonously  dis- 
coursing to  the  crowd  in  a  manner  so  amusing  as 
to  call  forth  repeated  outbursts  of  laughter;  and  it 
was  evident  that  the  subject  of  the  discourse  was 
the  strange  and  ridiculous  ways  of  foreigners  in 
general;  if  not  the  strange  and  ridiculous  appear- 
ance of  the  particular  foreigner  just  now  illustrat- 
ing the  characteristics  universal  with  the  race.  Ob- 
viously such  conditions  were  not  favourable  to  rest- 
ful sleep. 

Since,  soon  after  three  o'clock  the  horses  had 
not  come,  my  native  friend  paid  a  visit  to  the  stables 
in  person;  and  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  later  the  six 
animals  required  were  standing,  with  their  Bettos, 
before  the  inn,  under  the  fading  moonlight.  When 
I  inquired  how  he  succeeded  in  accomplishing  so 
quickly  what  others  had  failed  to  accomplish  by 
hours  of  angry  effort,  his  reply  was  that  he  told 
the  keeper  of  the  stable  there  was  a  distinguished 
foreigner  waiting  at  the  inn,  who  was  very  angry 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      63 

at  being  treated  with  such  indignity;  and  that  he 
would  himself  report  the  matter  to  the  authorities 
at  Tokyo  and  have  his  license  taken  away,  if  he 
did  not  furnish  the  horses  immediately.  "  Did 
you  tell  him,"  I  said  jestingly,  "  that  such  behaviour 
might  lead  to  serious  international  complications?" 
"  No,"  said  my  friend,  "  but  I  did  tell  him  that  it 
would  affect  treaty  revision  very  unfavourably." 
Such  a  statement  was,  at  the  time  it  was  made, 
not  so  extravagant  and  purely  jocose  as  it  might 
seem.  For  the  nation  was  justly  dissatisfied  and 
restless  under  the  claims  of  foreign  nations  to  the 
continuance  of  ex-territorial  rights  for  themselves; 
and  even  to  the  right  to  regulate  the  import  and 
export  duties  of  Japan.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the 
memory  of  the  late  American  Minister,  Colonel 
Buck,  that  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  express  and  to 
exercise  confidence  in  the  Japanese  to  manage  both 
their  internal  and  their  foreign  affairs  on  terms  of 
a  strict  equality  with  all  the  first-class  nations.  At 
that  time,  however,  not  a  few  foreigners,  both 
within  and  outside  of  diplomatic  circles,  were  ob- 
jecting to  a  fair  arrangement  of  international  obli- 
gations, on  the  ground  of  complaints  as  trivial  as 
mine  would  have  been,  if  it  had  been  made  anent 
the  delay  of  the  horses. 


64  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

Those  who  have  never  tried  a  ride  of  twenty- 
five  miles  on  a  Japanese  farm  horse,  with  a  wooden 
saddle  but  without  either  stirrups  or  bridle,  do  not 
know  what  physical  tortures  may  be  involved  in  it. 
I  was  assigned  the  youngest  and  friskiest  beast  of 
burden  among  them  all;  and  if  I  had  been  able  to 
have  any  control  over  him,  the  choice  would  have 
been  somewhat  to  my  advantage.  But  I  had  abso- 
lutely no  control;  for  each  animal  had  its  own 
special  betto,  whose  duty  was  to  lead  it  by  a  long 
straw-rope;  and  as  I  have  already  said  there  was 
no  bridle  for  any  of  the  horses.  My  betto  was  a 
loutish,  impudent  fellow,  who  had  the  unpleasant 
habit  of  throwing  down  his  rope — sometimes  at  the 
most  ticklish  places — and  sauntering  back  to  smoke 
with  his  fellows,  leaving  me,  of  course,  quite  helpless 
before  any  fate  chosen  for  me  by  the  caprices  of 
my  mount.  And  the  mount  was  uncommonly  high, 
for  a  large  supply  of  blankets  had  been  placed 
beneath  the  steep  wooden  saddle,  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  horse's  back.  Since  I  knew  no  Japanese 
words  of  threatening  or  other  vigorous  protest,  I 
was  compelled  for  the  most  part  to  submit  in  an 
alarmed  quiet ;  but  occasionally,  as  for  example  when 
we  were  going  along  the  side  of  the  mountain,  which 
was  as  steep  as  gravity  would  let  the  scoriae  and  ashes 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      65 

lie,  and  where  the  path  was  scarcely  more  than  a 
foot  in  width,  I  could  invoke  the  aid  of  my  friend, 
who  was  generally  within  hailing  distance.  His 
effective  intervention,  in  a  language  understood  by 
both  persons,  would  then  usually  bring  my  betto 
sauntering  back  to  resume  again  his  neglected 
duties. 

The  dawn,  when  we  reached  the  uplands  outside 
the  village  of  Komoro,  was  as  beautiful  as  dawn 
in  summer  in  Japan  can  ever  be.  Below  us  lay 
the  village  with  its  surroundings;  in  front  and  at 
our  side,  the  mountain;  and  overhead  the  larks  were 
singing,  the  stars  were  waning,  and  the  soft  light 
and  brilliant  colouring  of  the  early  morning  were 
creeping  up  the  sky. 

As  we  rose  higher  and  higher  above  the  village, 
the  view  behind  us  widened,  and  the  way  became 
steeper  and  more  difficult  for  the  horses ;  perhaps  in 
places  also  slightly  dangerous.  About  half  the 
distance  of  the  mountain's  height  upward,  all  vege- 
tation ceases,  and  the  path,  joining  that  from 
Oiwake,  a  hamlet  lying  several  miles  nearer  Karui- 
zawa  than  does  ,Komoro,  proceeds  oyer  a  steep 
ascent  of  loose  ash  to  the  edge  of  the  outer  ridge. 
This  ridge  appears  from  the  villages  below  to  be  the 
summit  of  the  volcano,  but  is  in  reality  considerably 


66  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

below  it.  It  was  near  this  point  that  we  learned 
the  discouraging  experiences  of  the  party  of  pedes- 
trians who  had  started  out  at  about  midnight  of 
the  night  before.  The  native  guide  whom  they 
employed  had  lost  and  then  deserted  them;  the 
young  woman  had  fainted  quite  away  with  exhaus- 
tion; the  men  detailed  to  procure  assistance  and 
have  her  conveyed  to  the  nearest  farmhouse,  several 
miles  away,  had  of  course  abandoned  the  excur- 
sion; while  the  others  had  been  able  only  to  have  a 
glimpse  from  the  mountain's  top,  and  were  now 
hastening  down  in  the  hope  of  meeting  us,  who 
were  ascending  with  the  baskets  containing  a  much- 
needed  breakfast.  It  was  some  satisfaction  to 
know  that  the  man  whom  we  had  earlier  seen  wan- 
dering around  in  a  clearing  on  the  side  of  a  lower 
mountain  which  arose  across  a  wooded  ravine  was 
no  other  than  the  faithless  guide.  He  had  lost 
himself,  after  abandoning  his  charge! 

When  we  came  within  a  mile  of  the  foot  of  the 
true  cone  the  bettos  struck  and  demanded  more 
backshish,  under  the  pretence  that  this  was  as  far 
as  they  had  been  hired  to  go.  Negotiations  fol- 
lowed, accompanied  by  threats,  and  resulting  in  our 
moving  onward  after  another  annoying  delay  to  the 
proper  place  from  which  to  attack  the  mountain. 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      67 

After  a  mid-day  breakfast  we  began  the  last  stage 
of  our  climbing  of  Asama-yama;  and  indeed  this 
can  scarcely  be  called  a  climb  in  any  strict  meaning 
of  the  word.  It  is  rather  a  stiff  walk — ankle  deep  or 
more  in  scoriae  and  ashes — up  a  cone  some  two  thou- 
sand feet  in  perpendicular  height.  It  was  obvious 
that  we  could  no  longer  hope  to  have  the  interesting 
experiences  covered  by  the  original  plan.  There  was 
no  chance  of  seeing  the  volcanic  fires  made  more  im- 
pressive by  the  darkness  of  night;  and  sunrise  had 
already  passed  by;  many  hours.  What  was  still 
worse,  just  while  we  were  eating  luncheon,  a  thick 
cloud  came  down  upon  the  mountain  and  completely 
shrouded  objects  even  a  few  rods  away.  There  re- 
mained, however,  the  crater  and  its  unceasing  dis- 
play of  the  forces  raging  within.  Plodding  steadily 
along,  with  muscles  stiff  and  aching  from  the  six- 
and-a-half  hours  of  such  a  horse-back  ride,  brought 
us  to  the  top;  and  here,  of  course,  the  cloud  had 
somewhat  of  the  same  effect  as  that  which  we  had 
expected  to  be  furnished  by  the  darkness  of  night. 

The  side  of  the  cone  of  Asama-yama  is  strewn 
with  large,  rough  fragments  of  loose*  lava,  and  un- 
fathomable rifts  extend  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
distance  down  to  its  very  base.  The  crater  is  almost 
circular  in  shape,  and  nearly  a  mile  in  circumfer- 


68  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

ence.  Its  sides  and  crest  are  horribly  jagged;  and 
its  depths,  as  far  down  them  as  one  can  see,  give 
a  lively  picture  of  the  popular  conception  of  a  veri- 
table hell.  The  coolies  warned  us  on  no  account 
to  throw  any  stones,  however  small,  into  the  crater; 
otherwise  the  god  of  the  mountain  might  be  an- 
gered by  the  insult,  and  avenge  it  by  overwhelming 
us  with  fire  and  smoke.  To  escape  any  touch  of 
such  a  fate,  it  seemed  to  us  unbelievers  more  neces- 
sary to  keep  as  much  as  possible  to  the  windward 
side  of  the  crater.  And,  indeed,  even  with  this  cau- 
tion, it  was  not  possible  to  escape  all  discomfort. 
On  approaching  as  near  as  was  at  all  safe,  one  saw, 
as  far  as  sight  could  reach,  great  masses  of  sulphur 
on  the  rocks,  clouds  of  steam  bursting  from  the  sides 
and  clouds  of  smoke  rising  from  lower  down;  while 
once  in  about  every  two  minutes  sheets  of  flame 
sprang  out  and  rose  occasionally  far  above  the  cra- 
ter's mouth. 

Coming  down  the  cone,  we  were  constantly  losing 
the  path,  so  thick  had  the  cloud  surrounding  the 
mountain  become.  The  prospect  of  descending  at 
any  other  than  the  right  spot  was  not  at  all  attract- 
ive; for  this  would  mean  wandering  about  indefi- 
nitely in  those  many  square  miles  of  the  region  which 
had  been  desolated  and  rendered  uninhabitable  by 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      69 

the  eruption  of  more  than  a  century  before.  This 
mishap  we  undertook  to  avoid  by  the  simple  expe- 
dient of  always  keeping  within  easy  Hailing  distance 
of  each  other;  and  then  when  any  one  of  the  party 
picked  up  the  lost  path,  it  was  easy  to  re-assemble 
the  entire  party. 

The  ride  back  to  the  inn  at  Komoro  was  evem 
more  tedious  than  the  ride  upward  had  been.  In 
places  it  was,  as  a  matter  of  course,  somewhat  more 
dangerous,  considering  the  character  of  the  bettos 
and  their  horses.  Mindful  of  this  and  willing  at 
times  to  escape  the  torture  of  the  pack-saddles,  my 
Japanese  friend  and  I  walked  a  considerable  propor- 
tion of  the  distance ;  the  missionary  ladies  trusted  the 
Lord  and  never  once  dismounted  from  their  horses. 
In  these  different  ways  we  all  arrived  safely  at  the 
inn  from  which  we  had  set  out  about  fourteen  hours 
before. 

And  now  we  were  to  have  another  specimen  of 
the  wisdom  and  morality  of  the  old-fashioned  inn- 
keeper in  his  dealings  with  foreigners  in  Japan. 
For  our  host,  through  whom  the  contract  for  the> 
horses  had  been  made,  insisted  that  he  must  have 
double  the  contract  price,  on  the  ground  that  the 
animals  had  doubled  the  distance  for  which  they 
were  hired,  by  bringing  us  back  again.  Here,  for 


yo  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

the  third  and  last  time,  the  shaming  and  threaten- 
ing process  was  gone  through  with,  and  justice  in 
dealing  reluctantly  forced  instead  of  submission  to 
fraud.  By  the  time  this  unwelcome  item  of  busi- 
ness was  accomplished,  however,  it  was  necessary 
for  my  friend  and  me  to  bid  good-bye  to  the  rest 
of  the  party  and  to  make  all  possible  haste  in  jinrik- 
ishas  to  the  station  in  order  to  catch  the  last  train 
for  Shin-Karuizawa,  where  we  intended  to  spend  the 
night.  For  we  knew  that  here,  in  clos>e  proximity 
to  the  station,  a  new  tea-house  had  just  been  opened 
by  a  host  who  was  desirous  of  catering  to  foreigners 
and  who  had  some  faint  notions  at  least  of  what  was 
necessary  in  order  to  realise  his  desire. 

On  arrival,  our  first  inquiry  was  for  that  old-fash- 
ioned Japanese  bath,  which,  when  followed  by  the 
native  form  of  massage,  excels,  as  a  remedy  for 
exhausted  nerves  and  sore  and  tired  muscles,  any- 
thing to  be  found  elsewhere  in  the  world.  The  re- 
ply of  the  host  was  that,  of  course,  the  bath  had  been 
prepared,  but  only  one  other  guest  had  as  yet  made 
use  of  it;  if  then  the  foreign  gentleman  had  no  ob- 
jection on  this  account,  he  could  be  served  at  once. 
It  would  take  an  hour,  however,  to  prepare  a  fresh 
bath.  Under  the  circumstances,  promptness  seemed 
much  preferable  to  extreme  squeamishness;  and  only 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      71 

an  extreme  of  this  trait  so  inconvenient  for  the 
traveller  in  those  days  in  Japan  would  raise  a  moun- 
tain of  objections,  when  one  knew  that  every  de- 
cent Japanese  does  his  washing  of  the  entire  body 
most  thoroughly,  before  he  enters  the  bath. 

After  a  bath  and  a  supper  of  rice,  eggs  and  tea, 
came  amma  san,  the  professional  blind  masseuse  of 
the  neighbourhood,  who,  for  the  munificent  sum  of 
twenty  cents — fee  and  tip  of  generous  proportions 
included — greatly  relieved  the  tired  pedestrians. 
The  trip  next  morning  down  the  tram  was  much  less 
uncomfortable  than  the  upward  trip  had  been.  In 
the  evening  of  the  same  day  I  spoke  in  the  theatre  at 
Maebashi,  the  principal  centre  of  the  silk  trade  of 
this  region;  and  then  the  following  day  we  went  on 
to  Ikao.  The  fifteen  miles  between  these  two  places 
were  travelled  in  jinrikishas  or  on  foot, — a  style  of 
journeying  which  was  pleasant  and  more  merciful, 
since  the  steep  rise  of  the  latter  part  of  the  way  made 
their  work  too  hard  even  with  two  men  to  each  jin- 
rikisha.  And  indeed,  I  have  never  been  able  to  be 
amused  rather  than  angered  at  the  sight,  common 
enough  even  now,  of  a  fat  English  or  American  wo- 
man jabbing  a  little  Japanese  man  with  her  parasol 
in  order  to  make  him  run  faster.  How  can  we  mod- 
ify so  as  to  cover  a  case  like  this,  the  motto:  "A 


72  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

merciful  man  is  merciful  to  his  beast!  "  And  here 
I  should  like  to  say  a  good  word  for  the  Japanese 
jinrikisha  runner.  In  the  old-time  treaty  ports, 
chiefly  through  the  influence  of  foreigners,  he  has 
indeed  been  sadly  corrupted.  But  in  the  old  feudal 
towns  and  country  places  he  is  in  general  an  honest, 
well-meaning  fellow,  who  strives  hard  to  give  sat- 
isfaction to  his  employer  by  doing  his  hard  work 
faithfully.  And  of  the  several  whom  I  have  had 
with  me  for  weeks  and  months  together,  there  has 
not  been  one  to  whom  I  have  not  become  attached. 
There  is  no  need  to  describe  the  attractions  of 
Ikao,  with  its  main  street  consisting  of  a  nearly  con- 
tinuous steep  flight  of  steps,  and  its  houses  on  the 
side  streets  hanging  over  each  other  as  they  sit  on 
the  terraced  slope  of  Mount  Haruna,  or  border  on 
the  deep  ravine  of  Yusawa,  through  which  rushes  a 
foaming  torrent.  For  centuries  lovers  have  met 
about  the  old  well  in  the  centre  of  its  lower  end. 
All  this  will  be  remembered  by  those  who  have  been 
there;  or  it  can  be  read  about  in  the  guide-books. 
But  other  engagements  prevented  a  long  stay  in  this 
delightful  spot;  nor  could  time  be  spared  for  a  visit 
to  Mushi-yu,  further  up  the  mountain,  where  num- 
bers of  peasants  were  coming  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  sulphurous  gases  which  were  supposed  to  be  good 


CLIMBING    ASAMA-YAMA      73 

for  rheumatic  troubles.  The  acuteness  of  our  self- 
denial  of  the  last-mentioned  privilege  was  enhanced 
by  an  advertisement  which  was  posted  just  where  the 
path  up  the  mountain  diverges  from  the  main  way, 
and  where  the  Christian  patriot  Neesima  spent  some 
of  his  last  hours.  This  advertisement  read:  "Hot 
steam  baths!  uncommon  to  the  World.  Cures  rhu- 
matiz,  stummach-ake  and  various  other  all  diseases 
by  Cold  caught." 

The  return  to  Tokyo  was  wholly  commonplace. 
In  spite  of  numerous  petty  annoyances  and  disap- 
pointments, such  as  are  to  be  expected  anywhere  in 
the  world  by  the  traveller  in  as  yet  unfrequented 
parts,  and  even  when  recalling  with  a  grimace  the 
physical  discomforts  of  the  pack-horses  with  their 
wooden  saddles  and  their  faithless  bettos,  my  friend 
and  I  are  still  fond  of  recurring  in  memory  to  the 
fun  we  had  when,  in  July  of  1892,  together  we 
climbed  Asama-yama. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE  SUMMER  SCHOOL  AT  HAKONE 

ON  MY  return  from  the  excursion  to  Asama-yama, 
after  a  single  night  spent  in  Tokyo,  I  went  up  into 
the  Hakone  Mountains  to  attend  the  Summer  School 
of  missionaries  and  Christian  students,  which  was  to 
be  held  that  year  in  the  village  of  the  same  name. 
Here  there  would  be  audiences  eager  to  hear  ad- 
dresses on  themes  connected  with  the  discussion  of 
ethical  and  religious  problems — matters  about 
which  the  younger  portion  of  the  nation  were  then 
not  nearly  so  solicitous  as  they  are  at  the  present 
time.  The  attention  of  the  men  who  were  working 
to  bring  in  the  New  Japan  was  more  exclusively  di- 
rected to  defensive  and  offensive  armament,  and  to 
what  is  popularly  called  "  science  " ;  and  the  opinion 
prevalent  among  these  men  seemed  to  be  that  all  the 
nation  needed  for  truest  prosperity  and  advance- 
ment to  the  front  ranks  of  civilisation,  was  a  suffi- 
ciently large  army  and  navy,  and  a  thorough  train- 
ing for  its  youth  in  the  sciences  and  arts  which  deal 
with  material  things.  It  is  a  great  encouragement 
and  comfort  to  the  real  friends  of  Japan  to  know 

74 


THE    SUMMER    SCHOOL        75 

that  so  many  of  its  leaders  and  of  its  more  promis- 
ing young  men  no  longer  hold  these  shallow  opin- 
ions. And  if  the  next  generation  of  Japanese  can 
escape  the  corrupting  and  debasing  influence  of  the 
American  and  European  spirit  of  commercialism, 
and  can  conserve  and  enlarge  and  elevate  that  an- 
cient spirit  of  their  own  best  men,  which  they  call 
"  Bushido,"  there  is  even  prospect  that  they  will 
equal  or  excel  the  Western  nations  in  those  spiritual 
qualities  which  make  nations  truly  great. 

The  Committee  of  the  Summer  School  at  Hakone 
had  sent  a  young  man  to  escort  me  to  the  place  of 
meeting;  and  in  his  company  I  took  the  early  morn- 
ing train  for  Kozu.  This  village,  with  its  charm- 
ing view  of  the  Bay  of  Odawara,  the  volcano  of 
Oshima,  and  the  islet  of  Enoshima,  in  front,  and 
on  turning  around,  when  the  weather  is  favourable, 
of  Fuji  behind,  was  as  far  toward  our  destination  as 
the  train  could  carry  us.  From  there,  through  the 
celebrated  castle-town  of*  Odawara,  we  took  the 
tram  to  Yumoto.  In  feudal  times  many  bloody  con- 
flicts were  fought  in  and  around  Odawara.  For 
here  dwelt  in  succession  some  of  the  most  celebrated 
of  the  families  of  Daimyos  in  the  days  of  the  "  Old 
Japan."  One  of  these,  the  Hojo,  was  overthrown  in 
1590  by  the  cruel  Hideyoshi.  And  the  fact  that 


76  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

this  was  accomplished  by  a  sudden  attack  while  the 
generals  within  the  castle  were  discussing,  and  could 
come  to  no  agreement,  as  to  the  best  plan  of  defence, 
has  led  to  the  proverbial  saying,  Odawara  hyogi,  or 
"the  Odawara  conference";  which  means:  "  End- 
less talk  defeats  prompt  and  efficient  action." 

The  guide-book  of  the  period  remarks  that  the 
large  inn  at  Yumoto  "  would  seem  to  be  conducted 
with  a  view  to  the  almost  exclusive  reception  of 
Japanese  guests;"  but,  perhaps  owing  to  the  nativ- 
ity and  energy  of  my  escort,  I  was  most  royally  en- 
tertained there.  Both  luncheon  and  bath  were  in 
the  best  Japanese  style. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  a  sedan-chair,  which  had 
been  securely  tied  on  either  side  to  a  long  bamboo 
pole  so  as  to  fit  it  for  carrying  by  four  coolies,  was 
standing  in  front  of  the  inn.  Into  this  I  was 
mounted,  my  luggage  having  been  strapped  on  un- 
derneath; the  whole  was  then  raised  aloft  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  men,  and  started  off  in  impressive 
style  with  orders  from  my  escort  to  go  slowly,  as  he 
would  remain  behind  to  settle  the  bills  and  would 
then  overtake  us  shortly.  We  were  to  go  up  the 
mountains  by  the  old  Tokaido,  and  via  Hata.  But 
the  sturdy  bearers  made  such  light  weight  of  their 
burden  that  the  young  man  did  not  catch  them  ex- 


THE    SUMMER    SCHOOL        77 

cept  by  hard  running;  and  then  only  when  they  had 
nearly  finished  the  ten  miles  or  more  over  the  moun- 
tain pass,  which  lay  between  Yumoto  and  the  village 
of  Hakone.  The  interest  and  joy  of  that  memor- 
able ride  over  the  Hakone  mountains  will  never  be 
forgotten.  Indeed,  it  is  as  fresh  to-day  as  it  was 
eighteen  years  ago.  The  weather  was  superb;  the 
sky  an  Italian  blue,  and  the  temperature  a  summer 
heat  softened  by  the  woods  and  the  elevation  of  the 
mountains.  For  miles  the  way  lay  along  the 
heights  on  one  side;  and  on  the  other  the  moun- 
tains fell  away  below  into  valleys  whose  depths  were 
not  visible,  but  beyond  which  other  mountains  could 
be  seen  through  that  soft  haze  which  is  responsible 
for  so  many  of  the  most  beautiful  atmospheric  ef- 
fects in  the  Land  of  the  Rising  or — as  the  Japanese 
like  to  say — now  Risen  Sun.  Both  above  and  be- 
low was  verdure  everywhere, — of  dark  and  solemn 
and  stately  cryptomerias,  of  light  and  feathery 
bamboo,  and  of  various  other  trees,  and  of  hanging 
vines.  Clear  mountain  streams  broke  in  water-falls 
from  the  cliffs  over  our  heads;  crossed  the  highway 
as  brooks  or  rivulets;  and  turning  again  to  water- 
falls, took  another  leap  into  the  valley  below.  The 
road  had  formerly  been  paved  with  stone  blocks  and 
lined  with  cryptomerias  at  regular  intervals  on  either 


78  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

side.  But  since  the  Tokaido  railway  was  finished  in 
1889,  it  has  ceased  to  be  the  great  thoroughfare  be- 
tween the  capital  cities;  the  paving  has  been  buried 
in  mud  or  washed  away  by  the  floods  which  have 
found  here  their  most  convenient  passage  down  the 
pass;  and  the  young  trees  and  shrubs  have  largely 
encroached  upon  its  Imperial  domain.  All  this, 
however,  together  with  huge  red  lilies  and  other 
flowers  which  had  pre-empted  the  deserted  royal 
highway,  made  it  more  attractive  for  the  occupant 
of  the  sedan-chair  on  that  July  afternoon.  To  be 
carried  up  was  indeed  an  ignoble  way  to  make  such 
a  journey;  but  the  demands  of  etiquette,  which  are 
somewhat  more  inexorable  in  Japan  than  with  us, 
seemed  to  make  submission  unavoidable. 

But  reminiscences  derived  from  the  history  of  the 
remoter  and  more  recent  past,  added  much  to  the 
sentiments  belonging  with  propriety  to  this  manner 
of  journeying  along  the  Tokaido.  I  was  travelling 
along  an  important  part  of  the  highway  over  which, 
from  the  seventeenth  century  onwards,  the  Daimyos 
and  their  gorgeous  retinues  went  to  pay  their  respects 
and  to  acknowledge  their  allegiance  to  the  Shogun 
at  Yedo.  One  could  easily  revive  something  of  the 
picture  which  is  described  as  follows  by  Black  in  his 
"  Young  Japan  " :  "  But  what  a  scene  it  used  to  pre- 


THE    SUMMER    SCHOOL        79 

sent!  How  crowded  with  pedestrians;  with  nori- 
mons  (the  palanquins  of  the  upper  crust),  and  at- 
tendants; with  hagos  (the  modest  bamboo  convey- 
ance of  the  humble  classes) ;  with  pack-horses 
conveying  merchandise  of  all  kinds  to  and 
from  the  capital  or  the  busy  towns  and  vil- 
lages along  the  route;  with  the  trains  of  daimyos 
or  lesser  gentry  entitled  to  travel  with  a  retinue; 
and  with  the  commonalty,  men,  women  and  children 
on  foot,  all  with  their  dresses  turned  up  for  facility 
of  movement,  and  for  the  most  part  taking  the  jour- 
ney pretty  easily;  frequently  stopping  at  the  numer- 
ous tea-houses  or  resting  sheds  by  the  way,  and  re- 
freshing themselves  with  a  simple  little  cup  of  weak 
green  tea,  and  a  cheery  chat  with  whomsoever  might 
stop  like  themselves  to  rest  It  used  to  seem  that 
distance  was  no  consideration  with  them.  They 
could  go  on  all  day,  and  day  after  day,  if  only  they 
were  allowed  (which  they  generally  were)  to  take 
their  own  time  and  pace.  The  value  of  time  never 
entered  into  their  thoughts." 

But,  as  the  author  just  quoted  adds,  "  the  numer- 
ous trains  of  armed  men  passing  in  both  directions 
were  the  most  striking  feature  of  the  scene."  These 
were  the  samurai,  or  two-sworded  gentlemen,  the 
knightly  retainers  of  the  feudal  lords,  without  whom 


8o          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

as  body-guard  and  signs  of  his  power  and  magnifi- 
cence, no  one  of  these  lords  could  fitly  perform  his 
act  of  homage.  The  etiquette  of  the  road  was 
strictly  defined ;  and  breaches  of  it  were  perilous  and 
the  not  infrequent  causes  of  bloody  encounters.  The 
principal  villages  along  the  route  were  the  stopping- 
places  for  the  night  of  these  populous  and  sometimes 
troublesome  processions;  but  they  were  greatly  in 
favour  with  the  keepers  of  the  inns  and  tea-houses— 
in  general,  persons  of  the  lowest  class  and  vilest 
morals — who  vied  with  one  another  in  furnishing  all 
kinds  of  the  entertainment  and  conveniences  de- 
manded by  this  sort  of  travellers  the  world  over, 
and  in  all  times  of  its  history. 

My  coolies  trotted  on,  marking  time  with  a  mo- 
notonous "ichi,"  "ichi,"  "ichi,"  ("one,"  "one," 
"one")  and  an  occasional  shifting  of  the  poles  to 
the  other  shoulder,  without  break  until  we  reached, 
near  the  top  of  the  pass,  the  decayed  and  almost  de- 
serted village  of  Hata.  Then,  at  a  signal  from  the 
traveller,  they  set  down  the  chair  in  front  of  a  dilapi- 
dated and  disreputable-looking  tea-house,  and  went 
inside  to  take  tea  and  cakes  at  his  invitation.  A 
crowd  of  naked  or  scantily  dressed  children,  num- 
bering thirty-one  by  actual  count  and  of  various  sizes, 
from  tiny  babies  on  the  backs  of  nurses  almost  as 


THE    SUMMER    SCHOOL        81 

tiny,  to  half-grown  boys  and  girls,  gathered  to  see 
the  then  unaccustomed  and  truly  wonderful  sight. 
They  surrounded  my  chair  and  stood  gazing  at  me 
with  a  silent,  mild-mannered,  but  unabashed  curios- 
ity. In  order  to  have  a  little  fun  with  them,  I  pulled 
my  hat  far  down  over  my  face;  with  perfect  sober- 
ness and  no  seeming  appreciation  of  a  joke,  they 
fairly  lay  down  on  their  backs  on  the  ground  in  or- 
der to  get  a  sight  of  my  face  under  the  hat.  No- 
where else  are  children  shown  so  much  favour  as  in 
Japan;  probably  nowhere  else  are  children  happier; 
but  nowhere  else  that  I  have  ever  been  are  the  chil- 
dren so  sober  and  amusingly  solemn,  even  in  play. 
The  scattering  of  a  few  sen  among  them  on  parting, 
however,  brought  the  excitement  of  the  day  to  its 
culmination,  and,  doubtless,  went  far  toward  mak- 
ing the  occasion  for  a  long  time  memorable.  What 
a  contrast  this  to  the  magnificence  of  travel  which 
was  the  accustomed  sight  of  the  village  in  the  good 
old  times  of  feudalism  under  the  Shogunate  of  the 
Tokugawas ! 

After  the  coolies  had  loitered  over  their  tea-drink- 
ing and  smoking  as  the  time  to  be  allowed  for  the 
remainder  of  the  journey  would  permit,  and  al- 
though the  escort  had  not  succeeded  in  overtaking 
us,  we  started  again  on  our  way.  From  Hata  to 


82          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

Hakone  the  beauty  of  the  scenery  was  not  so  allur- 
ing; but  there  were  certain  features  of  equal  histori- 
cal interest.  Chief  among  them,  perhaps,  was  the 
remnants  of  the  old  barrier  and  guard-house  (Ha- 
kone  no  seki) ,  where  all  travellers  were  formerly 
challenged  and  required  to  show  their  passports.  The 
barrier  itself  was  removed  in  1871 ;  but  part  of  the 
stonework  still  remained  at  the  time  of  my  visit.  In 
this  neighbourhood  is  a  large  red  torii  (one  of  those 
archways,  so  universal  in  Japan,  formed  of  two  up- 
right and  two  horizontal  beams,  which  were  originally 
says  Mr.  Satow  in  the  Second  Volume  of  the  Asiatic 
Transactions,  "  perches  for  the  fowls  offered  up  to 
the  gods,  not  as  food,  but  to  give  warning  of  day- 
break"). By  its  side  stood  a  wooden  shed  contain- 
ing two  iron  rice-boilers,  said  to  have  been  used  by 
Yorotomo  on  his  hunting  expeditions.  On  the  right 
stands  one  of  the  Emperor's  summer  palaces,  a  very 
unpretentious  structure  of  wood  in  foreign  style.  A 
short  run  along  the  shores  of  the  lake  brought  us  to 
the  inn,  Hafu-ya,  where  the  coolies  were  ordered  to 
deposit  their  burden  by  my  escort  who,  shortly  before 
we  entered  the  village,  had  succeeded  in  overtaking 
them. 

The  Lake  of  Hakone,  or  to  call  it  by  its  original 
name, — now    used    only    in    poetry, — dshi-no-Umi, 


THE    SUMMER    SCHOOL        83 

which  is,  being  interpreted,  "  the  Sea  of  Reeds,"  is 
somewhat  more  than  three  and  a  half  miles  long  and 
eleven  miles  around.  In  spite  of  its  name,  "  the 
reedy,"  its  deepest  part  measures  down  no  less  than 
thirty-seven  fathoms.  Away  from  the  shores,  its 
waters  are  cold  and  dangerous  for  swimmers.  My 
room  was  on  the  side  of  the  inn  toward  the  lake,  and 
looked  across  a  small  garden  upon  its  fickle  waters 
and  pretty  shores.  But,  what  was  a  yet  more  im- 
portant advantage  to  its  point  of  view,  across  the 
lake  a  fine  view  of  Fuji  terminated  the  northwestern 
horizon.  Always,  when  the  weather  conditions  per- 
mitted, the  "  incomparable  mountain "  was  before 
the  uplifted  eyes.  On  one  occasion,  it  was  my  good 
fortune  to  have  a  view  that  is  comparatively  infre- 
quent and  that  has  been  celebrated  by  a  goodly  num- 
ber of  those  short,  sentimental  poems,  which  it  is  a 
part  of  the  old-fashioned  culture  to  be  able  to  pro- 
duce at  a  moment's  notice  and  in  unlimited  number. 
At  a  certain  period  of  the  year,  and  only  at  an  early 
hour  of  the  morning,  when  the  conditions  of  light  and 
atmosphere  are  just  right,  the  head  of  Fuji,  more 
than  twenty  miles  distant  as  the  birds  fly,  can  be  seen 
mirrored  in  the  Lake  of  Hakone.  But  I  had  sight 
of  a  still  rarer  act  of  grace  on  nature's  part,  which 
undoubtedly  would  have  evoked  a  flood  of  poems 


84          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

from  my  Japanese  friends, — only,  alas!  that  I  was 
the  sole  person  in  all  the  world  to  see  it.  And  I, 
alas  again !  I  am  no  poet.  But,  perhaps,  it  is  not  cor- 
rect, either  from  the  scientific  or  the  literary  point  of 
view,  to  speak  of  Japanese  poems  as  constituting  a 
"  flood  " ;  since  they  are  for  the  most  part  in  length 
of  thirty-one  syllables.  But  the  sight  was  this.  A 
small  cloud  of  the  purest  white  formed  itself  into  a 
wreath  of  most  perfect  shape,  and  then  floated  down 
through  the  blue  sky  to  lay  itself  upon  the  side  of  the 
mountain  near  its  summit.  There  it  lay  until  the 
mountain's  embrace  slowly  dissolved  it  away.  I  sup- 
pose I  may  be  pardoned  for  giving  my  attention  to 
this  rather  than  to  the  sermon  which  was  being 
preached  at  the  time;  since  the  sermon  was  in  a  lan- 
guage of  which  at  the  time  scarcely  a  word  was  intel- 
ligible to  me. 

The  following  week  was  most  pleasantly  spent  at 
Hakone,  in  the  manner  best  approved  by  the  success- 
ful summer  schools.  The  hours  not  occupied  by  its 
sessions  and  by  conversations  with  its  members,  were 
for  the  most  part  given  to  excursions.  There  are 
many  of  interest  in  the  neighbourhood;  as  any  travel- 
ler of  to-day  will  be  informed  on  consulting  his  guide- 
book. Indeed,  Hakone  attempts  to  vie  with  Miya- 
noshita  as  respects  its  attractions  for  tourists  in  the 


THE    SUMMER    SCHOOL        85 

summer  season.  But  the  two  are  scarcely  compar- 
able on  terms  of  equality.  Those  who  prefer  hot 
baths,  easier  access,  drier  air,  and  the  comforts  of  an 
excellent  foreign  hotel,  with  its  correspondingly 
higher  prices,  will  choose  Miyanoshita.  But  those 
who  like  privacy,  a  charming  lake  for  bathing,  fish- 
ing, and  water  picnics,  who  can  put  up  with  the  dis- 
comforts of  living  in  rude  Japanese  country  style,  will 
save  money  and  learn  more  about  country  folk  in 
Japan,  by  choosing  Hakone.  The  trouble  with  such 
Japanese  inns  as  the  Hafu-ya,  at  the  time  of  my  visit, 
was  this;  instead  of  furnishing  really  good' Japanese 
food,  supplemented  and  modified  somewhat  by  for- 
eign elements,  they  thought  to  please  foreigners  by 
abominable  attempts  at  imitation  of  the  worst  style 
of  French  cooking.  And  there  was  then  a  supply  of 
young  fellows  as  ambitious,  ignorant  and  conceited 
about  their  ability  to  do  French  cooking  as  about 
their  ability  to  teach  English  after  they  had  commit- 
ted to  memory  all  the  words  in  a  small  dictionary, — 
as  far,  for  example,  as  the  letter  K.  But  for  the  time 
of  my  stay,  the  joy  of  opportunity,  the  interest  of 
learning,  the  pleasures  of  forming  life-long  friend- 
ships, and  the  delights  of  nature,  made  any  physical 
discomforts  seem  of  no  account. 

Of  the  various  excursions  taken  by  the   summer- 


86          RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

school,  that  to  Ojigoku,  or  "  Big  Hell  "  (also  called 
by  the  less  startling  title  of  Owaki-dani,  or  "  the  Val- 
ley of  the  greater  boiling  ")  ,was  the  most  important. 
The  party  took  boats  across  the  lake  and,  before 
starting  for  the  climb,  had  luncheon  at  a  pleasant  tea- 
house on  its  shores.  We  then  walked  up  to  the  top 
of  the  gorge  and  part  way  down  on  the  other  side. 
As  it  has  been  facetiously  said,  neither  name  for  the 
place  is  a  misnomer;  and,  indeed,  one  does  well  to 
guide  one's  steps  as  religiously  when  going  through 
this  gorge  as  though  walking  on  the  very  brink  of 
perdition.  For  the  whole  gorge  is  weird  and  desolate 
and  reeking  with  the  sulphurous  fumes  that  perpetu- 
ally rise  from  the  ground.  At  short  distances  boil- 
ing water  breaks  through  the  thin  crust  from  below, 
— sometimes  so  near  the  path  that  to  deviate  in  the 
least  from  the  footsteps  of  your  guide  is  dangerous. 
Not  a  few  lives  have  been  sacrificed  by  a  false  step 
on  this  treacherous  crust.  But  all  of  us,  being  ac- 
customed to  walk  carefully  and  follow  authorised 
leadership,  went  up  and  returned  in  safety. 

All  the  lectures  and  addresses  of  the  summer 
school  at  Hakone  were  listened  to  with  that  fine 
mingling  of  concentrated  and  sympathetic  attention 
and  the  spirit  of  independent  inquiry  which  charac- 
terises the  best  minds  among  the  Japanese,  as  it  does 


THE    SUMMER     SCHOOL       87 

the  same  class  in  other  civilised  races.  With  such 
minds,  clearness,  knowledge  of  hfs  subject,  and  moral 
earnestness  on  the  part  of  the  speaker,  are  the  most 
highly  prized  qualities.  With  them  also,  apprecia- 
tion and  enthusiasm  follow  upon  conviction  of  the 
truthfulness  of  what  is  said;  and  the  true-hearted 
teacher  considers  it  a  far  higher  reward  to  win  such 
recognition  from  them  than  to  gain  a  temporary  ap- 
plause or  even  the  permanent  reputation  for  popular- 
ity. Without  doubt  to-day,  the  ambition,  especially, 
of  so  many  of  the  younger  instructors  of  college  stu- 
dents, to  have  large  classes  and  to  get  into  the  class- 
books  of  the  Seniors  as  a  "  favourite  "  or  "  most  pop- 
ular "  teacher*,  is  one  of  the  several  baleful  results  of 
the  excessiye  lengths  to  which  the  elective  system  has 
been  carried  in  this  country.  It  is  leading  not  a  few 
of  the  most  thoughtful  educationists  to  doubt  whether 
the  remark  recently  made  by  one  of  their  number  be 
not  true ;  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  teaching 
of  the  present-day  college  faculties  is  coming  to  be  of 
little  or  no  really  educative  value.  In  the  colleges  and 
universities  of  Japan  at  the  present  time,  the  dan- 
gerous tendencies  are  of  another  order;  since  they 
have  been  modelled  rather  after  a  European  than  an 
American  pattern.  With  them  the  tendency  of  the 
professors  and  other  instructors  is  to  become  too  ex- 


88  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

clusively  interested  in  their  own  reputation  for  science 
— not  always  by  any  means  solidly  founded;  and  to 
care  too  little  for  the  mental  and  moral  culture  of  the 
great  body  of  their  pupils.  Besides  this,  there  is  the 
still  more  acute  danger  from  those  students  who  have 
failed  in  their  examinations,  whether  for  entrance  or 
for  a  degree,  of  whom  there  are  many  thousands  in 
the  city  of  Tokyo  alone.  It  is  a  sad  fact  that  a  con- 
siderable percentage  of  these  students  are  recognised 
as  belonging  to  the  criminal  classes.  Indeed,  all  over 
the  world,  and  especially  in  Russia  and  China,  the 
chief  hopes  and  the  chief  risks,  to  the  Government 
and  to  society,  are  lodged  with  the  student  classes. 

At  the  close  of  the  engagement  at  Hakon-e  I  was 
for  the  first,  but  by  no  means  the  last,  time  the  re- 
cipient of  a  genuine  old-fashioned  Japanese  "  Sayon- 
ara."  There  are  many  ways  of  speeding  the  part- 
ing guest  which  prevail  in  the  different  parts  of  the 
civilised  and  uncivilised  world.  But  nowhere  else, 
so  far  as  I  am  aware,  is  there  anything  quite  like  the 
way  characteristic  of  the  "  Old  Japan."  Even 
among  the  Japanese  it  is  being  rapidly  modified — 
necessarily  so — by  the  multiplication  of  railway 
trains  and  by  the  other  influences  operating  to  pro- 
duce a  more  hurried  and  self-centred  mode  of  life. 
But  the  leave-taking  of  departing  friends  has  there 


THE    SUMMER    SCHOOL        89 

not  yet  contracted  itself  to  a  mere  formal  call  days 
beforehand  at  the  house,  or  to  a  "  Good-bye,"  an 
"  Au  revoir,"  or  the  more  familiar  "  So  long,"  or 
"  Take  care  of  yourself,  Old  Fellow,"  from  the  plat- 
form of  the  railway  station.  The  pleasure  of  hav- 
ing from  fifty  to  a  hundred  persons — lords  and  la- 
dies, professors,  officials,  together  with  your  kuru- 
maya  and  domestic  servants — gathering  at  a  distant 
station  to  see  you  off  by  train  at  six-o'clock  in  the 
morning  is  somewhat  embarrassing.  But  one  cannot 
steal  away  in  silence  and  without  notice  from  Japan- 
ese friends;  and  an  old-fashioned  "  Sayonara,"  in  a 
country  place  and  on  an  occasion  like  that  of  the 
breaking-up  of  the  summer-school  at  Hakone  in 
1892,  is  an  experience  which,  while  it  makes  one 
ashamed  of  one's  self  for  being  the  cause  of  so  great 
unmerited  trouble  on  the  part  of  others,  leaves  be- 
hind unfading  memories  of  the  most  encouraging 
and  happiest  character. 

On  a  Sunday  afternoon  a  so-called  "farewell  meet- 
ing "  was  held.  At  this  meeting  there  was  an  ad- 
dress of  thanks  from  the  Rev.Mr.  Honda,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  school,  speaking  in  behalf  of  the  central 
Committee;  a  complimentary  address  by  one  of  the 
younger  men;  the  presentation  of  written  resolutions; 
an  essay  in  English  by  a  recent  graduate  of  Doshisha 


90  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

Theological  School;  an,d  a  concluding  response  by 
the  recipient  of  all  these  unaccustomed  favours.  All 
this  together  with  the  singing  of  several  songs,  both 
in  Japanese  and  in  English,  made  up  what  was  called 
by  all  "  a  tender  and  touching  service." 

But  what  was  for  me  at  that  time  the  marvel  of 
the  whole  affair  came  the  following  morning.  A  se- 
vere typhoon  had  been  raging  along  the  coast  for 
several  days.  Although  the  wind  had  not  been  so  ter- 
rific in  the  mountains  back  from  the  sea,  it  had  been 
sufficiently  strong  to  rock  violently  the  inn  where  I 
was  staying,  and  to  keep  the  waters  on  which  my 
room  looked  out  furiously  agitated.  The  rain  had 
been  constant  and  some  of  the  time  torrential.  By 
this  Monday  morning,  however,  the  wind  had  chiefly 
subsided ;  the  rain  was  no  longer  a  down-pour,  but  it 
had  by  no  means  wholly  ceased;  nor  was  there  any 
sure  means  of  knowing  when  it  would  be  entirely 
over.  The  highways  were  deep  in  mud,  and  the 
smaller  mountain  paths  were  rivulets  of  swiftly  flow- 
ing water.  The  bare  rocks  of  the  mountains  were  as 
treacherously  slippery  as  weather  could  make  them 
without  coating  them  with  ice.  Certainly  it  was  not 
a  very  proper,  convenient,  or  safe  time  for  an  escort- 
ing procession  to  cross  the  mountains!  And  since 
we  were  returning  by  Ashinoyu  and  Miyanoshita,  the 


THE    SUMMER    SCHOOL        91 

first  part  of  the  route  would  be  at  its  best  rougher 
and  more  difficult  for  the  bearers  of  a  sedan-chair 
than  the  route  over  the  Tokaido  had  been.  But  the 
demands  of  Japanese  courtesy  are  inexorable.  For 
me  to  deprecate  the  taking  of  so  much  trouble  was 
wholly  unavailing;  to  have  declined  to  receive  it 
would  have  resulted  in  a  grievous  disappointment  to 
many  others,  and  might  even  have  occasioned  a 
breach  of  friendship.  I  have  since  learned  to  let  the 
Japanese  have  their  own  way  in  all  such  matters;  and 
when  one  has  thoroughly  learned  this  lesson,  there  is 
no  other  people  with  whom  the  relations  of  host  and 
guest  are  so  full  of  heightened  enjoyment  to  both 
parties.  But  I  must  confess  that  on  that  morning 
there  was  no  little  sympathetic  suffering  mingled  with 
a  large  measure  of  happiness. 

At  about  eight  o'clock  a  conveyance  similar  to  that 
which  had  been  employed  from  Yumoto — a  sedan- 
chair  and  four  coolies — was  ready  in  the  front  yard 
of  the  inn,  Hafu-ya.  About  one  hundred  members 
of  the  school,  headed  by  President  Honda  and  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Harada  (the  former  now  Bishop  of  the 
native  Methodist  Church  of  Japan,  and  the  latter  the 
recently  elected  president  of  Doshisha)  were  on 
hand,  ready  to  walk  in  train  and  convoy  the  parting 
guest  on  his  way.  Eight  or  ten  of  the  ladies  who 


92  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

had  been  in  attendance  on  the  meetings  of  the  school, 
insisted  on  accompanying  us  for  about  half  a  mile 
down  the  village  street.  Then  I  was  permitted  to  get 
down  from  the  chair  and  part  from  the  ladies  with 
much  ceremony  of  bowings  and  interchange  of  well- 
wishing  for  the  future.  The  remainder  of  the  es- 
cort tramped  steadily  on,  through  mud  and  water, 
often  more  than  ankle-deep.  The  last  mile  and  a 
half  of  the  way  over  the  mountains,  the  path  was 
simply  horrible.  It  led  down  over  slippery  stones, 
through  shallow  mountain  brooks;  and  in  one  place 
by  such  a  steep  descent  that  it  was  necessary  to  cling 
to  the  chair  with  all  one's  strength  lest  one  might  be 
pitched  headlong  from  one's  seat.  But  the  coolies 
proved  sure-footed  and  the  escort  kept  cheerfully  on 
their  way.  In  the  courtyard  of  the  inn  at  Ashinoyu, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains,  they  gathered 
around  the  chair,  and  without  allowing  it  to  be  low- 
ered so  that  I  could  dismount,  they  gave  in  the  heart- 
iest manner  the  national  cheer :  "  Banzai ;  banzai ; 
ban-banzai,"  ("ten  thousand;  ten  thousand;  ten 
times  ten  thousand  years").  To  raise  my  hat  and 
bow,  with — I  am  not  ashamed  to  say — a  sad  heart 
and  moist  eyes,  was  all  the  way  of  expressing  grati- 
tude which  was  left  to  me. 

From  Ashinoyu  the  greater  number  of  the  friends 


THE    SUMMER    SCHOOL       93 

turned  back;  but  about  a  half-dozen  of  the  younger 
enthusiasts  kept  on  undaunted  all  the  way  to  Yumoto, 
a  distance  of  fully  nine  miles.  The  route  from  Ashi- 
noyu  to  Miyanoshita  discloses  many  points  of  inter- 
est. By  turning  aside  from  it  and  climbing  some  of 
the  heights  above,  several  distant  and  rarely  beau- 
tiful views  may  be  had;  but  neither  the  weather  nor 
my  method  of  conveyance  at  that  time  permitted  of 
such  an  interruption.  The  picturesquely  situated  but 
insignificant  village  of  Dogashima  was  just  visible 
through  the  mist,  in  the  always  darksome  valley  sev- 
eral hundred  yards  below  the  path;  and  with  the 
glimpse  of  it  we  were  obliged  to  be  contented.  After 
an  excellent  luncheon  at  Miyanoshita,  a  jinrikisha 
carried  me  swiftly  down  hill  all  the  way, — past  the 
pleasant  hotel,  hot  springs,  white  Russian  chapel,  and 
shop-windows  full  of  mosaic  wood-work,  which  are 
the  attractions  of  Tonosawa — to  Yumoto,  the  point 
of  starting  for  my  trip  of  some  ten  days  before  over 
the  Tokaido.  From  here  by  tram  to  Kozu,  and 
from  Kozu  by  train  to  Tokyo,  was  a  journey  tame 
enough  as  compared  with  that  of  the  morning. 

The  remaining  four  weeks  of  my  stay  in  Japan  in 
1892  were  spent  in  Nikko.  Since  every  tourist  goes 
to  Nikko,  and  makes  the  same  round  of  sight-seeing, 
to  be  followed  by  similar  exclamations  and  reflec- 


94  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

tions,  there  is  no  excuse  for  writing  about  all  that. 
I  have,  however,  two  or  three  memories  connected 
with  visits  to  this  celebrated  resort  which  are  some- 
what notable.  While  there  on  this  first  visit  I  re- 
ceived a  letter  and  then  a  call  from  a  young  man  who 
had  come  all  the  way  from  Sapporo  in  Hokkaido  to 
attend  the  summer-school  at  Hakone;  and  who  was 
now  covering  the  several  hundred  miles  back  to  his 
home  on  foot.  To  give  his  own  explanation*  of  the 
motive  for  so  extensive  an  expedition,  he  had  wished 
to  determine  for  himself  whether  there  were  a  God, 
or  not.  He  begged  the  privilege  of  stopping  two  or 
three  days  at  Nikko,  in  order  to  continue  the  conver- 
sations which  we  had  begun  at  Hakone.  I  heard 
that  my  young  friend  subsequently  joined  a  Christian 
church;  but  after  returning  to  this  country  I  lost  sight 
of  him  altogether.  It  was  not  until  seven  years  later, 
when  I  was  in  New  York  for  a  few  days,  just  about 
to  start  for  a  second  visit,  that  he  called  upon  me. 
He  had  been  spending  several  years  in  Germany  in 
the  study  of  engineering,  as  a  Government  scholar. 
He  was  to  remain  in  this  country  some  months  before 
returning  for  service  in  Japan;  so  that  again  my 
young  friend  passed  quite  out  of  my  field  of  vision. 
Seven  years  still  later,  when  on  the  way  to  Japan  for 
the  third  time,  on  inquiry  from  a  young  engineer,  a 


THE    SUMMER    SCHOOL        95 

friend  of  my  friend,  I  heard  that  the  latter  was  in  a 
responsible  Government  position  and  still  a  deeply 
religious  man.  I  speak  of  this  as  an  example  of  the 
serious  and  business-like  manner  in  which  many  a 
Japanese  youth  of  the  last  two  generations  has  taken 
his  religious  opinions  as  well  as  his  professional  edu- 
cation. 

One  other  incident  which  connects  itself  with  mem- 
ories of  Nikko  is  worth  mentioning.  Through  the 
favour  of  an  introduction  from  the  Head  of  the 
House,  Prince  Tokugawa,  to  the  priest  first  in  rank, 
and  the  kindly  intervention  of  a  friend  whose  father 
had  been  the  teacher  of  the  priest  of  the  second  rank, 
my  wife  and  I  were  able  to  witness  a  ceremony,  and 
to  see  temple  treasures,  that  have  been  only  extremely 
rarely  or  never  accessible  to  foreigners.  We  were 
told  by  letter  from  the  Shrine  of  lyeyasu,  that  every- 
thing should  be  open  to  us,  if  we  came  at  any  time 
later  than  half-past  one  o'clock,  when  a  representa- 
tive of  the  Imperial  Family,  who  were  leaving  Nikko 
to-morrow,  would  have  finished  paying  homage  to 
the  memory  of  the  divine  ancestor  there  enshrined. 
We  arrived  at  the  Oratory  not  earlier  than  two  p. 
M.,  and  were  treated  with  every  show  of  respect. 
Although  the  ceremony  was  not  over,  and  although 
the  person  rendering  the  act  of  religious  homage  was 


96  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

the  representative  of  the  mother  of  the  Emperor,  we 
were  allowed  to  enter  the  shrine  and  witness  its  clos- 
ing scenes.  The  ceremony  was  most  simple,  reverent, 
and  impressive,  as  is  all  the  worship  of  Shinto. 
Kneeling  in  prayer,  bowing  in  reverence,  and  drink- 
ing the  memorial  cup  of  sake,  were  its  principal  fea- 
tures. After  these  acts  of  homage  were  finished,  and 
the  worshipper  had  departed,  the  priests,  without 
taking  off  their  white  silk  robes  or  black  mitres,  at- 
tended us  with  lighted  lanterns  and  showed  every  de- 
tail of  the  shrines  and  all  of  the  relics  which  it  is  per- 
missible for  any  other  than  royal  eyes  to  see.  They 
lifted  up  the  silk  curtains  before  the  beautiful  gilt  and 
lacquer  work,  and  passed  the  lights  over  the  entire 
surface  so  that  no  minutest  feature  of  their  beauty 
might  escape  us.  They  brought  out  the  glass  cases 
containing  two  of  lyeyasu's  swords,  with  scabbards 
of  black  lacquer,  and  his  armour,  including  the  hel- 
met which  he  wore  at  the  battle  of  Seki-gawara ;  or 
— according  to  my  friend's  version  of  the  tradition 
— the  helmet  which  he  put  on  at  the  end  of  this  bat- 
tle, with  the  celebrated  saying:  "After  victory,  one 
should  tighten  one's  helmet."  Then,  followed  the 
exhibition  of  the  more  private  relics  of  lyeyasu,  such 
as  his  futons,  night-clothing,  tea-service,  etc. ;  and  the 
original  of  his  motto  concerning  the  wise  and  safe 


THE    SUMMER    SCHOOL        97 

conduct  of  life.  In  short,  it  was  our  privilege  at  that 
visit  to  see  all  that  is,  according  to  the  guide-book,  in 
the  "  rooms  not  accessible  to  visitors,"  except  the  in- 
nermost shrine,  where  is  the  statue  of  the  hero,  and 
which  no  one  enters  but  the  princes  of  the  Imperial 
household,  and  they  only  on  orders  from  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Household. 

Bringing  these  two  exhibitions  of  the  same  human 
religious  nature  into  close  contrast — the  devotions 
and  discourses  of  the  Christian  summer  school  at  Ha- 
kone,  and  the  simple  but  stately  and  solemn  and  most 
powerfully  influential  ancestor-worship  of  the  Old 
Japan — may  well  suggest  trains  of  most  serious  re- 
flection for  friends  of  the  nation,  both  native  and 
foreign.  Perhaps  nowhere  else  has  the  development 
of  this  more  primitive  form  of  religion  been  on  the 
whole  so  strong  on  the  side  of  its  more  salutary  in- 
fluences, and  more  free  from  the  most  objectionable 
and  degrading  of  the  features  which  have  generally 
characterised  it.  To-day  it  is  probably  the  most 
powerful  of  all  bonds  to  unite  the  nation's  present 
with  its  own  past,  and  to  bind  together  for  defence 
and  for  progress  the  different  classes  and  elements  of 
the  national  life.  B'ut  in  its  present  form  it  cannot 
resist  the  forces  that  make  for  change  in  religious  be- 
liefs and  practices;  especially  as  these  beliefs  and 


98  RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

practices  are  represented  by  the  highest  ideals  of 
Christianity.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Chris- 
tianity which  converts  Japan  is  not  likely  to  be 
the  precise  dogmas,  ceremonies,  or  institutions,  which 
go  under  this  name  in  the  too  often  misnamed 
"  Christian  nations  "  of  the  Occident.  And  it  will 
be  well  for  Japan  not  to  lose  the  spirit  of  regard  for 
the  unseen,  of  reverence  for  the  elders,  and  of  obe- 
dience to  authority,  that  consciousness  of  living 
and  acting  constantly  in  the  sight  of  a  "  great  crowd 
of  heavenly  witnesses,"  and  the  desire  to  emulate  the 
character  and  the  examples  of  the  heroes  of  old  time, 
the  worthies  who  have  gone  on  before,  which  have 
characterised  its  earlier  form  of  religion,  if  it  is  to 
preserve  and  enhance  its  ancient  virtues,  while  ris- 
ing superior  to  its  characteristic  traits  of  weakness, 
failure,  and  sin. 


CHAPTER    V 

JAPANESE  AUDIENCES 

AUDIENCES  in  Japan  differ,  as  they  do  everywhere, 
in  dependence  on  the  social  classes  which  compose 
them,  their  culture,  varying  points  of  view ;  and  their 
more  immediate  or  remoter  interests.  They  all  have, 
however,  certain  characteristics  in  common;  and  the 
more  prominent  of  these  seem  to  be  of  racial  origin 
and  significance.  Perhaps  the  most  obvious  thing  to 
the  experienced  and  observing  foreigner  is  a  certain 
"  secretiveness,"  or  demeanour  due  to  trained  habit 
of  repressing  the  emotions,  at  least  until  they  break 
forth  into  more  emphatic  or  even  extravagant  form 
because  of  long-continued  repression.  This  habit 
was  acquired  by  the  Samurai  in  his  control  of  the  pas- 
sion of  anger.  He  was  taught  as  a  boy  to  receive  in- 
jury and  insult  from  others  with  an  appearance  of 
calm ;  and  not  to  draw  his  sword  until  he  had  deter- 
mined that  either  he,  or  his  insulter,  or  both,  must  pay 
the  penalty  with  death.  I  have  already  told  how 
"du  calme"  was  given  to  General  Jan  Hamilton  as 
the  most  important  qualification  for  a  field  marshal  or 

99 


ioo         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

general  in  command  of  a  grand  army  in  time  of  battle. 
But  this  habit  of  repression  is  not  confined  to  the 
more  explosive  of  the  emotions.  It  is  the  testimony 
of  those  who  witnessed  the  behaviour  of  the  two  com- 
batants during  the  Russo-Japanese  war, — in  battle, 
and  when  wounded  or  dying, — that  the  Japanese 
were  generally  quiet  and  the  Russians  more  noisy  and 
demonstrative.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  expres- 
sions of  appreciation  and  gratitude. 

In  this  connection  I  recall  with  pleasure  two  or 
three  incidents  in  my  own  experience.  At  the  close 
of  an  engagement  in  one  of  the  larger  cities,  the 
President  of  the  Government  institution  in  whose 
behalf  most  of  the  lectures  had  been  given,  said  to 
me  in  a  voice  choked  with  emotion:  "You  know,  of 
course,  that  we  Japanese  are  trained  to  repress  our 
feelings.  I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  a  good  thing 
or  not;  but  it  is  so.  And  I  cannot  tell  you  what 
we  all  feel."  On  parting  from  one  of  my  favourite 
pupils,  who  had  spent  several  years  in  study  in  this 
country,  he  said:  "  I  do  not  know  how  to  say  at  all 
what  I  feel;  but  Confucius  taught  that  the  grati- 
tude and  affection  of  the  pupil  toward  his  teacher 
stand  next  to  those  of  the  son  toward  his  father." 
In  reality  the  teacher  who  succeeds  with  his  Jap- 
anese pupils  receives  a  reward  of  these  much  coveted 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       101 

friendly  bonds,  which  it  is  difficult  or  impossible 
to  hope  for  even,  anywhere  else  in  the  world. 
The  foreigner,  therefore,  who  enters  into  scholastic 
relations  with  Japanese  students,  if  he  is  competent, 
devoted  and  tactful,  need  not  concern  himself 
greatly  about  this  part  of  the  returns  from  his  labours ; 
it  will  surely  follow  in  due  time.  And  there  is 
still  enough  left  in  Japan  of  the  Confucian  style  of 
arranging  social  classes  in  the  scale  of  their  values, 
which  has — theoretically  at  least — prevailed  for  cen- 
turies in  China;  and  which  places  the  scholar  at  the 
head  of  the  list  and  relegates  the  money-maker  to 
the  bottom  of  the  scale.  Indeed,  it  is  only  very 
recently  that  Japanese  "men  of  honour  "  would  have 
anything  to  do  with  business;  or  that  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  higher  classes  would  intermarry 
with  the  business  classes.  This  is  undoubtedly  one 
reason  for  the  partially  justifiable,  but  on  the  whole 
exaggerated,  low  estimate  of  the  business  morals  of 
the  Japanese.  It  remains  to  be  seen,  however, 
whether  the  good  or  the  evil  results  of  the  change 
of  attitude  toward  the  money-getter,  which  is  now 
taking  place  with  such  rapidity,  will  prevail;  and 
whether  the  net  results  will  elevate  or  degrade  the 
prevalent  standards  of  morality.  Certainly,  neither 
Europe  nor  America  has  much  to  boast  of,  as  re- 


102         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

spects  these  standards,  on  a  fair  comparison  with 
Japan. 

This  attitude  of  secretiveness,  born  of  the  habit 
of  repressing  all  appearance  of  emotional  excitement, 
is  further  emphasised  by  the  desire,  sometimes  only 
to  appear  and  sometimes  really  to  be,  independent 
and  critical.  The  tendency  to  revolt  from  authority 
and  to  appeal  to  the  rational  judgment  of  the  indi- 
vidual has  been  the  inevitable  accompaniment  of  the 
transition  from  the  "Old"  to  the  "New"  Japan. 
Naturally  and  properly,  too,  this  tendency  has  been 
greatest  and  most  conspicuous  among  the  student 
classes.  As  a  result  affecting  the  relations  of  teacher 
and  pupils  in  the  higher  institutions  of  learning,  and 
even  among  more  popular  audiences,  a  certain  cool- 
ness of  demeanour  is  deemed  appropriate.  In  certain 
audiences — notably  those  of  such  institutions  as  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  or  of  the  mis- 
sionary schools,  or  of  other  native  schools  that  imi- 
tate foreign  ways,  approval  is  expressed  by  clapping 
of  hands  or  by  other  similar  means.  But  this  is  not 
characteristically  Japanese.  The  truly  native  manner 
of  listening  is  an  unflinchingly  patient,  polite,  and 
respectful,  but  silent  attention.  The  disadvantage, 
therefore,  under  which  the  occasional  speaker  or 
more  constant  lecturer  before  Japanese  audiences 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       103 

suffers,  is  this:  he  may  be  utterly  unaware,  or  com- 
pletely deceived,  as  to  the  way  in  which  his  audience 
is  taking  him.  It  is  entirely  possible,  and  indeed  has 
happened  to  more  than  one  missionary  or  other 
teacher,  to  remain  for  years  self-deceived  concerning 
the  estimate  his  pupils  were  holding,  both  of  his 
person  and  of  his  instruction. 

Another  marked  characteristic  of  Japanese  audi- 
ences is  their  extraordinary  patience  in  listening. 
Whatever  the  subject,  and  whoever  the  speaker,  and 
whether  his  treatment  is  interesting  or  dull  or  even 
totally  unintelligible,  the  listeners  seem  to  feel  the 
obligation  to  maintain  the  same  attitude  of  atten- 
tion to  the  very  end  of  the  discourse.  This  endur- 
ance on  the  part  of  his  hearers  makes  the  call  for 
endurance  on  the  part  of  the  speaker  who  is  deter- 
mined to  interest  and  instruct  them,  all  the  more 
imperative  and  even  exhausting.  While  lecturing  in 
India,  I  came  regularly  to  expect  that  a  considerable 
percentage  of  the  audience  would  melt  away — not 
always  by  any  means  as  silently  as  the  snow  goes  in 
a  Spring  day  of  genial  sunshine — before  the  talk 
was  half  or  two-thirds  over.  In  Korea,  it  needed  only 
one  or  two  experiences  to  learn  that,  perhaps,  the 
larger  portion  of  the  audience  came  to  look,  and 
see  (indeed,  to  "look-see'*  is  the  current  native 


104        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

phrase).  But  in  Japan,  under  circumstances  most 
trying  to  the  patience  of  both  speaker  and  hearers,  I 
have  never  known  more  than  a  handful  or  two  of  in- 
dividuals to  steal  quietly  away,  until  the  proper  and 
exactly  ceremonial  time  for  leaving  the  room  had 
fully  arrived.  And  in  such  cases  it  was  usually 
thought  necessary  for  some  one  to  explain  the  en- 
gagement which  had  made  necessary  such  a  breach 
of  etiquette. 

So  far  as  native  habits  and  influences  still  remain 
in  control,  this  characteristic  of  patience  in  listening 
seems  to  belong  to  all  kinds  of  audiences,  in  both 
town  and  country,  and  both  cultured  and  relatively 
uninstructed.  In  the  Imperial  Universities  of  Tokyo 
and  Kyoto,  and  in  the  Government  Colleges  of 
Trade  and  Commerce,  my  lectures  were  given  in 
English  and  were  not  interpreted.  This  was  not  al- 
lowed, however,  to  shorten  greatly  the  entire  period 
covered  by  the  exercises;  for  a  double  lecture — 
fifty  minutes'  talk,  then  ten  minutes  for  a  cup  of  tea, 
and  then  fifty  minutes  more  of  talk — -was  the  order 
of  the  half-day.  In  the  case  of  the  lectures  before 
the  teachers,  under  the  auspkes  of  the  Imperial  Ed- 
ucational Association,  or  the  similar  Associations 
under  the  presidency  of  the  Governors  of  the  various 
Ken,  the  necessity  of  having  the  English  done  into 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       105 

Japanese  operated  to  stretch  out  each  engagement  to 
even  greater  length.  Of  this  more  than  two  hours  of 
speaking  and  listening,  somewhat  less  than  one-half 
was  usually  occupied  by  the  lecture  in  English ;  while 
the  Japanese  paraphrase,  in  order  to  make  all  clear, 
required  the  remainder  of  the  allotted  time.  The  tax 
upon  the  patience  of  the  audience  must  have  been 
increased  by  the  fact  that,  ordinarily,  for  a  large 
part  of  the  whole  period  they  were  listening  to  a 
language  which  they  either  understood  very  imper- 
fectly or  did  not  understand  at  all.  For  the  cus- 
tomary method  was  to  divide  the  entire  address  into 
five  or  six  parts  of  about  ten  minutes  each ;  and  then 
lecturer  and  interpreter  alternated  in  regular  order. 
In  some  cases,  however,  as,  for  example,  the  course 
of  lectures  given  at  Doshisha  in  1892,  Mr.  Kazu- 
tami  Ukita,  now  Professor  of  Sociology  in  Waseda 
University, — the  most  skilful  interpreter  I  have 
ever  known, — at  the  close  of  the  English  lecture, 
rendered  it  entire  into  fluent  and  elegant  Japanese, 
preserving  as  far  as  the  great  differences  in  the  struc- 
ture and  genius  of  the  two  languages  make  possible, 
the  exact  turns  of  speech  and  the  illustrations  of  the 
original. 

What  is  true  of  these  more  scholastic  audiences  is 
equally  true  of  those  which  are  more  popular.    In- 


106        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

deed,  It  is  probably  the  fact  that  the  non-scholastic 
audiences  in  the  smaller  cities  and  in  the  country 
places  are  hitherto  much  less  infected  with  the 
Western  spirit  of  impatience,  which  masquerades 
under  the  claim  to  be  a  sacred  regard  for  the  value 
of  time,  but  which  is  often  anything  but  that,  than 
are  the  student  classes  in  the  crowded  centres  of  edu- 
cation. At  Osaka,  in  1892,  nearly  one  thousand 
officials  and  business  men  gathered  on  a  distressingly 
hot  summer's  afternoon  and  sat  without  any  show 
of  desire  to  escape,  listening  for  more  than  two  hours 
to  an  address  on  a  topic  in  ethics.  In  Kyoto,  in 
1907,  on  invitation  of  the  Governor  of  the  Ken,  and 
of  the  mayor  of  the  city,  fifteen  hundred  of  the  so- 
called  "  leading  citizens  "  packed  the  Assembly  Hall 
of  the  District  Legislature,  galleries  included,  and 
sitting  Japanese  fashion  on  the  floor  listened  for 
three  mortal  hours,  to  a  speech  of  introduction,  to 
a  biographical  address,  to  a  talk  on  "Japan  from 
the  Point  of  View  of  a  Foreign  Friend,"  and  its 
interpretation,  to  an  address  of  thanks  and  to  a 
response  by  the  person  who  had  been  thanked. 

Nor  is  this  characteristic  great  patience  exhausted 
by  a  single  occasion.  In  Tokyo  a  class  of  more  than 
four  hundred  teachers  continued,  substantially  un- 
diminished,  through  a  course  of  thirty  lectures  on 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       107 

the  "Teacher's  Practical  Philosophy";  the  class  in 
Kyoto  which  entered  for  a  course  of  twenty  hours  on 
the  same  subject  numbered  rather  more  than  eight 
hundred,  and  of  these  nearly  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  received  certificates  for  constancy  in  attendance. 
At  Nagasaki,  Sendai,  and  other  places,  similar 
classes  obtained  and  kept  an  average  attendance  of 
from  four  hundred  to  six  hundred.  At  the  close  of 
each  of  these  engagements,  the  class,  together  with 
their  foreign  teacher,  always  had  to  be  photographed. 
It  is  well  known  to  all  travellers  in  Japan,  and  to 
all  readers  of  books  on  Japan,  how  much  the  Jap- 
anese, in  their  intercourse  with  each  other,  insist  upon 
a  formal  and  elaborate  politeness;  and  how  careful 
the  better  classes,  and  even  the  body  of  the  common 
people,  are  to  practice  this  virtue,  so  esteemed  by 
them,  in  all  their  intercourse  with  foreigners.  But 
it  is  far  from  being  generally  or  sufficiently  recog- 
nised, how  unfortunate  and  even  positively  shocking, 
the  disregard — not  of  their  particular  forms,  but 
of  all  attempts  at  the  polite  treatment  of  others, 
seems  to  them,  as  they  are  so  constantly  forced  to 
notice  its  prevalence  among  foreigners.  That  a  fair 
degree  of  genuineness  attaches  itself  to  these  formal 
and  conventional  observances,  no  one  who  knows  the 
nation  at  all  thoroughly  can  for  an  instant  enter- 


io8         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

tain  a  doubt.  Of  course,  on  the  other  hand,  neither 
non-compliance  nor  the  most  exact  compliance,  mean 
the  same  thing  with  us  as  with  the  Japanese.  With 
them,  not  to  treat  a  person — even  a  coolie — politely, 
is  positively  to  insult  him.  The  foreigner  who 
should  treat  the  native  domestic  servant,  when  the 
latter  approached  on  his  knees  and  bowing  his  head 
constantly  to  the  floor,  with  an  insult  or  a  blow, 
might  pay  the  penalty  with  his  life.  But  the  old- 
fashioned  politeness  is  being  put  to  a  difficult  test  by 
the  conditions  of  modern  life,  and  by  the  changes  of 
costume  and  of  customs  which  are  being  introduced 
from  abroad.  It  may  seem  strange  that  I  speak  of 
changes  in  costume  as  influencing  the  rules  for  polite 
social  intercourse.  But,  for  example,  the  Japanese 
kimono  forms  a  fitting  and  convenient  clothing  for 
ladies  who,  on  indoor  festal  occasions,  salute  each 
other  by  hitching  along  the  floor  on  their  knees, 
bowing  the  head  as  low  as  possible  at  frequent  in- 
tervals. It  is  decidedly  not  so  fitting  and  conven- 
ient, however,  where  courtesy  while  standing  is  de- 
manded by  politeness ;  or  where  it  is  desired  to  dance 
with  decency  and  elegance.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
modern  gown,  whether  with  or  without  train,  is 
even  less  well  adapted  to  the  practice  of  the  require- 
ments of  the  native  social  ceremonial. 


OFTHE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 
C 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       109 

According  to  the  Japanese  ideas,  a  proper  respect 
for  the  teacher  requires  that  the  pupil  should  receive 
and  salute  him,  while  standing.  This  rule  charac- 
terises the  ceremonial  adopted  by  audiences  of  all 
sizes  and  as  composed  of  different  classes  of  hearers. 
In  all  the  lectures  before  audiences  composed  prin- 
cipally of  teachers — since  they  were,  of  course,  for 
the  time  being  regarded  as  the  pupils  of  the  lecturer 
• — the  procedure  was  as  follows:  A  select  few,  such 
as  the  President  of  the  Imperial  or  of  the  local 
Teacher's  Association,  the  Mayor  of  the  city,  or  his 
representative,  and  one  or  more  members  of  the  Com- 
mittee who  had  the  affair  in  charge,  were  gathered 
some  time  before  the  lecture-hour  for  tea-drinking 
in  the  reception  room,  with  the  lecturer.  At  the 
appointed  time — usually  a  little  after,  and  sometimes 
much  after — this  party  of  the  select  few  proceeds 
to  the  audience-room.  On  their  entering  the  room, 
the  entire  audience  rises  to  its  feet  and  remains 
standing  until  the  speaker  has  mounted  the  platform, 
•bows  have  been  interchanged  with  him,  and  he  has 
sat  down.  At  the  close  of  the  address,  the  audience 
rises,  bows  are  again  interchanged,  and  the  "teacher," 
unless  some  special  arrangement  has  been  made  and 
announced  for  him  to  remain  for  further  exercises, 
or  to  be  introduced,  leaves  the  hall  first.  The  audi- 


no         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

ence  is  expected  to  remain  standing  until  he  has 
disappeared  through  the  door;  it  would  be  very  im- 
polite for  them  to  begin  sooner  to  disperse.  Indeed, 
I  have  never  seen  my  friend,  Baron  T — ,  so  ex- 
cited by  anything  else  as  he  was  on  one  occasion, 
when  the  assembly  of  teachers  began  to  move  from 
their  ranks,  with  the  appearance  of  breaking  up, 
while  I  was  only  half-way  between  the  platform  and 
the  door. 

It  would  be  a  great  mistake,  however,  to  infer 
from  such  passivity  and  enduring  patience  in  atten- 
tion that  Japanese  audiences  are  ready  to  accept  with 
complaisance  whatever  any  one  may  choose  to  tell 
them  for  truth;  or,  indeed,  to  regard  the  ipse  dixit 
of  their  authorised  instructors  as  of  itself,  a  sufficient 
authority.  On  the  contrary,  no  small  portion  of  the 
"  Young  Japan,'*  especially  among  the  student  classes, 
is  inclined  to  an  extreme  of  bumptiousness.  Consider- 
ing the  circumstances  of  the  present  and  the  experi- 
ences of  the  recent  past,  this  is  not  strange;  in 
view  of  the  characteristics  of  the  race  and  its  history 
in  the  more  remote  times,  it  is  not  unnatural.  More- 
over, science,  scholarship,  and  inventive  talents,  can- 
not be  subjected  promptly  in  Japan  to  the  same 
severe  and  decisive  tests,  which  are  available  to  some 
extent  in  this  country,  but  to  a  far  greater  extent  in 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       in 

most  countries  of  Europe.  But  surely,  in  this  country 
to-day  the  difference  between  pretence  or  quackery 
and  real  merit  or  unusual  attainments,  is  not  so  well 
recognised,  either  by  the  people,  or  by  the  press,  or 
even  by  the  executive  officers  of  our  educational  in- 
stitutions, as  to  enable  us  to  throw  stones  at  the 
Japanese, — or  for  that  matter  at  any  other  civilised 
nation. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  larger  proportion  of  any  Jap- 
anese audience,  who  have  perfect  confidence  in  the 
superiority  of  their  own  views,  or  in  the  originality 
and  collusiveness  of  their  own  trains  of  thinking, 
or  in  their  infallibility  of  judgment  and  loftiness  of 
point  of  standing,  than  would  be  the  case  with  an 
audience  similarly  gathered  and  constituted  in 
America.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  Japanese  student 
audiences  are  lacking  in  docility  or  difficult  to  teach. 
On  the  contrary,  I  think  they  are  much  more  eager 
to  hear  about  the  last  things  in  science,  politics,  phi- 
losophy, and  religion,  than  are  the  college  and 
university  students  'in  this  country.  And  they  cer- 
tainly are  on  the  whole  much  more  in  deadly  earnest 
in  the  matter  of  getting  an  education.  Something 
— probably  much — of  the  old  Samurai  spirit  still 
lingers,  which  forbade  the  boy  to  rest  or  sleep  until 
he  had  finished  his  appointed  task.  I  have  had 


ii2         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

more  than  one  of  my  own  pupils  tell  me  how  he 
had  studied  on  through  the  night,  applying  wet 
bandages  to  his  head,  or  placing  some  sharp  instru- 
ment so  as  to  prick  his  forehead,  if,  overcome  by 
sleepiness,  he  nodded  in  his  task. 

This -earnestness  of  demeanour,  joined  with  the  full 
confidence  in  an  ability  to  judge  or  even  to  discover 
for  one's  self,  undoubtedly  makes  the  audiences  of 
students  in  Japan  the  more  exacting.  Besides,  they 
are  prompt,  severe,  and  even  extreme, — oftentimes 
— in  their  judgments  concerning  the  ability  and  moral 
character  of  their  teachers.  It  is  a  by  no  means 
unusual  occurrence  for  the  students  in  private  or  even 
in  the  Government  institutions,  to  demand  the  re- 
moval of  some  teacher,  about  whom  they  have  made 
up  their  minds  that  he  is  either  incompetent  as  a 
scholar  or  unsafe  and  misleading  as  a  guide.  I 
have  repeatedly  heard  of  "  strikes  "  among  the  stu- 
dents to  enforce  such  a  demand;  but  I  have  yet  to 
hear  of  a  strike  or  a  "call-off  "  in  the  interests  of 
fewer  hours  or  easier  lessons.  Indeed,  nine-tenths 
of  the  students  in  the  Imperial  University  of  Tokyo 
are  probably,  in  their  ignorant  enthusiasm  to  master 
quickly  the  whole  realm  of  learning,  taking  a  much 
larger  quotum  of  lecture-hours  than  is  for  the  good 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       113 

of  sound  scholarship,  or  than  should  be  permitted 
by  the  University. 

As  underlying  or  supporting  or  modifying  all  the 
other  characteristic  features  of  the  task  attempted  by 
the  foreigner  who  expects  to  be  really  successful  in 
treating  of  serious  themes  with  a  Japanese  audience, 
is  the  high  value  placed  on  education  by  the  nation 
at  large.  At  the  period  of  first  excitement  over  the 
action  of  the  School  Board  of  San  Francisco,  in 
1906,  a  Japanese  friend  of  mine,  a  professor  in 
the  Imperial  University  of  Tokyo,  who  had  spent 
some  fifteen  years  of  his  earlier  life  in  this  country, 
remarked  to  me  with  extreme  concern  and  sadness, 
that  now  his  countrymen  were  wounded  by  us  at 
their  most  sensitive  point.  "  Nothing  else,"  he 
added,  "  do  all  our  common  people  prize  so  much, 
for  their  children  and  for  themselves,  as  education." 
In  spite  of  its  comparative  poverty,  and  of  the  feeling 
which — wisely  or  unwisely — it  shares  with  America 
and  Europe,  that  the  lion's  part  of  its  resources 
must  go  to  the  support  of  the  army  and  navy,  there 
is  none  of  these  nations  which  is  giving  so  much 
official  attention  to  the  education  of  all  its  people 
as  is  Japan.  As  has  already  been  pointed  out  in 
another  connection,  the  minister  of  Education  takes 


n4        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

rank  with  the  other  members  of  the  Ministry.  The 
President  of  the  Imperial  Teacher's  Association  is 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Peers ;  he  is  a  permanent 
officer  and  his  office  is  not  a  merely  honorary  posi- 
tion, is  in  no  respect  a  sinecure.  As  I  know  very 
well,  his  active  adminstration  includes  the  care  of 
the  details,  physical  and  intellectual,  of  the  various 
meetings  of  the  Association.  The  case  is  as  though 
some  Government  official  of  high  rank — for  example 
like  the  late  Senator  Hoar  of  Massachusetts — were 
to  be  the  permanent  president  and  active  manager  of 
the  general  Teachers'  Association  of  the  United 
States.  The  Professors  of  the  Imp|erial  Univer- 
sities hav-e  court  rank,  in  accordance  with  the  length 
of  the  time  and  the  distinction  of  their  services.  Dis- 
tinguished men  of  science  and  of  literature  are 
appointed  members  of  the  Upper  House  or  are 
decorated  by  the  Emperor,  in  recognition  of  their 
services  to  the  country  and  of  the  value  of  their 
presence,  as  men  who  may  be  reasonably  supposed 
to  know  what  they  are  talking  about,  in  the  councils 
of  the  nation.  Diplomats,  even  of  the  lower  ranks, 
must  be  educated  in  the  languages  and  history  of 
the  countries  in  which  they  are  to  be  stationed  as 
members  of  the  foreign  service.  The  ability  to 
read,  speak,  and  write  English  is  required  of  all  the 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       115 

graduates  of  the  Government  Schools  of  Trade  and 
Commerce.  There  is  a  larger  proportion  of  the 
children  in  the  public  schools  than  in  any  other 
country,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Germany. 
The  proportion  of  illiterates  to  the  entire  popula- 
tion is  much  less  than  it  is  in  this  country.  And  in 
spite  of  the  meagreness  of  equipment^  the  incompe- 
tence of  much  of  the  teaching  force,  the  large 
amount  of  crude  experimenting,  and  the  numerous 
and  serious  deficiencies,  which  still  afflict  the  system 
of  public  education  in  Japan,  the  recognition  of  the 
absolute  necessity  and  supreme  value  of  education  in 
determining  the  conditions  of  national  prosperity 
and  even  of  continued  national  existence,  is  intelli- 
gent, sincere,  and  practically  operative  among  all 
classes  throughout  Japan. 

Now  this  esteem  of  the  importance  of  instruction 
has  a  profound,  if  not  consciously  recognised,  in- 
fluence on  the  attitude  of  all  sorts  of  Japanese 
audiences  toward  the  person  who  is  addressing  them. 
He  is  assumed  to  be  telling  them  something  which  is 
true  and  which  they  need  to  know.  Talks  by  for- 
eigners, that  are  merely  for  entertainment  or  amuse- 
ment are,  in  general,  an  insoluble  puzzle  to  the 
average  Japanese  audience.  Of  course  this  failure 
to  appreciate  such  efforts  is  in  part  due  to  the  wide 


n6         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

difference  in  the  spirit  and  structure  of  the  two 
languages, — that  of  the  speaker  and  that  of  his 
hearers.  But  it  is  even  more  largely  due  to  something 
which  lies  far  deeper.  The  Oriental  story-teller  and 
professional  joker  has  his  place  in  the  estimate  of 
the  educated  and  even  of  the  common  people.  It 
is  side  by  side  with  the  juggler  or  performer  with 
marionettes.  To  consider  such  a  person  as  a  teacher 
would  be  foreign  to  the  conception, — a  scandalous 
profanation  of  a  sacred  term.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  one  can — and  this  must  come  only  after  a  consid- 
erable period  of  testing — win  and  hold  the  claim 
in  its  highest  meaning,  he  may,  as  simply  a  teacher, 
wield  an  influence  in  Japan  which  is  comparable  to 
that  to  be  gained  in  the  same  way  in  no  other 
civilised  land.  For  have  not  the  greatly  and  per- 
manently influential  benefactors  of  the  race  always 
been  teachers?  Were  not  Confucius,  and  Sakya- 
Muni,  and  Jesus,  all  teachers?  And  in  Japan  itself, 
only  a  few  years  ago,  did  not  a  certain  man  who 
had  refused  offers  of  government  positions  deemed 
higher  by  most,  in  order  that  he  might  remain  a 
teacher  of  Japanese  youth,  when  his  work  was  ended, 
have  his  coffin  attended  to  its  resting-place  by  ten 
thousand  of  his  fellow  citizens  of  all  classes,  walking 
bareheaded  through  the  rain?  Even  now,  when 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       117 

the  appreciation  of  the  importance  and  value  of 
wealth,  for  the  individual  and  for  the  nation,  is 
rising,  and  the  appreciation  of  the  importance  and 
value  of  intelligence  and  character  is,  I  fear,  rela- 
tively declining,  it  is  still  possible  for  the  truly 
successful  teacher  to  gain  the  esteem  and  influence 
over  Japanese  audiences  which  are  implied  in  the 
very  word  Sensei,  or  its  equivalent.  And  if  the 
title  is  used  with  its  full,  old-fashioned  significance, 
it  will  have  much  the  same  meaning  as  the  word 
"  Master  "  in  the  New  Testament  usage. 

At  the  time  of  my  last  visit  to  Japan,  in  1906 
and  1907,  the  temper  of  the  entire  nation  was  par- 
ticularly and  indeed  uniquely  interesting.  They  had 
just  been  through  a  terrible  struggle  with  what  had, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  struggle,  been  quite  gener- 
ally regarded  as  an  invincible  European  power. 
They  had  been,  indeed,  uniformly  victorious; 
but  at  the  cost  of  enormous  treasure  and  of  the 
outpouring  of  the  blood  of  the  flower  of  their 
youth.  The  nation  was  heavily  burdened  with 
debt;  and  its  credit,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
financing  of  the  war  had  been  conducted  with 
very  unusual  honesty,  frankness,  and  skill,  was 
low  for  purposes  of  borrowing  large  additional 
sums  of  money.  The  great  body  of  the  people,  who 


n8         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

did  not  know  what  His  Majesty,  the  Genro,  and 
the  most  intimate  circle  of  advisers  knew  perfectly 
well,  considered  the  nation  humiliated  and  defrauded 
by  the  unfavourable  terms  on  which  the  Portsmouth 
Treaty  of  Peace  was  concluded.  As  I  can  testify, 
there  was  an  almost  complete  absence  of  those  mani- 
festations of  elation  and  headiness,  amounting  to 
over-confidence  and  excessive  self-conceit,  which  pre- 
vailed so  widely  at  the  end  of  the  Chino-Japanese 
war.  On  the  contrary,  the  great  body  of  the  people, 
especially  outside  of  Tokyo  and  the  ports  of  Yoko- 
hama and  Kobe,  were  in  a  thoughtful,  serious,  and 
even  anxious  state  of  mind.  This  condition  could 
not  fail  to  make  itself  felt  upon  the  attitude  of  the 
audiences  toward  those  who  addressed  them,  in  corre- 
spondingly thoughtful  and  serious  fashion,  on  themes 
of  education,  morals,  and  religion.  Even  in  the 
public  schools  of  the  primary  grade,  the  bearing  of 
the  boys  and  girls  toward  their  work  is  serious;  and 
toward  their  teachers,  respectful  and  even  affec-  • 
tionate. 

Indeed,  in  the  year  after  the  war  with  Russia  ended, 
the  demand  everywhere  in  Japan  was  for  the  discus- 
sion of  moral  problems;  and  of  educational,  eco- 
nomic, and  political  problems,  as  affected  by  moral 
conditions  and  moral  principles.  The  lectures  to  the 


el 

52 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       119 

teachers  which  were  most  eagerly  welcomed  and  which 
made  by  far  the  most  profound  impression,  spoke  of 
the  teacher's  function,  equipment,  ideals,  and  relations 
to  society  and  to  the  state,  from  the  ethical  point 
of  view.  A  course  of  lectures  on  the  "  Doctrine  of 
the  Virtues  as  applied  to  Modern  Business "  was 
called  for  by  the  Government  Business  Colleges.  On 
my  accepting  an  invitation  to  speak  to  the  boys  in  the 
Fisheries  Institute,  and  asking  for  the  topic  which 
was  preferred  for  the  address,  the  reply  was  given 
without  hesitation:  "Tell  them  that  they  must  be 
*  good  men/  and  how  they  may  serve  their  country 
better  by  becoming  good  men.  Most  of  these  boys 
come  from  low-class  families,  whose  morals  are 
very  bad,  and  they  have  not  been  well  brought  up; 
but  we  wish  them  to  become  honest  and  virtuous 


men." 


Nor  was  this  interest,  amounting  in  many  cases  to 
anxiety,  about  the  moral  condition  and  future  moral 
welfare  of  the  nation,  confined  to  educational  circles. 
The  Eleventh  of  February  is  a  national  holiday  in 
Japan,  corresponding  more  exactly  than  any  other  of 
its  national  holidays  to  our  Fourth  of  July.  This  is 
the  traditional  date  of  the  founding  of  the  Empire. 
On  this  date,  in  1889,  the  "  Constitution  was  promul- 
gated by  the  Emperor  in  person,  with  solemn  and 


120         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

gorgeous  ceremony,  in  the  throne-room  of  the  Impe- 
rial Palace, — and  its  proclamation  was  followed  by 
national  rejoicings  and  festivities.'*  In  1907  the 
Asahi  Shimbun,  a  leading  paper  of  the  large  com- 
mercial city  of  Osaka,  undertook  to  commemorate 
the  day  by  a  public  meeting  in  the  Hall  of  the  As- 
sembly of  the  District,  and  by  a  banquet  in  the 
neighbouring  hotel.  In  the  afternoon  I  addressed  an 
audience  of  more  than  twelve  hundred  on  the 
"  Conditions  of  National  Prosperity,"  dwelling 
chiefly  on  those  conditions  which  are  domi- 
natingly  moral  and  religious  in  character.  The 
banquet  in  the  evening  was  attended  by  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  and  was  fairly 
representative  of  all  the  most  influential  citi- 
zens of  various  classes.  After  the  customary  ex- 
change of  complimentary  addresses,  opportunity  was 
given  for  others  to  speak.  A  venerable  gentleman, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  physicians  of  the  city, 
was  the  first  to  rise.  With  great  seriousness  he 
made,  in  substance,  the  following  comments  on  the 
exercises  of  the  afternoon, — which  were,  however, 
not  interpreted  for  me  until  a  full  fortnight  later. 
He  had  been  much  impressed  by  what  the  speaker 
had  said  at  the  afternoon  meeting  about  the  depend- 
ence of  national  prosperity  upon  the  nation's  mor- 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       121 

ality;  but  he  had  asked  himself:  "Why  are  such 
things  said  to  us?  We  are  not  '  rice  merchants  '  (a 
term  of  opprobrium) ;  we  are  the  leading  and  most 
respectable  citizens  of  Osaka."  He  had,  however, 
at  once  reminded  himself  that  this  is  precisely  what 
their  own  great  teacher,  Confucius,  taught  them 
centuries  ago.  And  then  he  had  asked  himself: 
"Why  do  the  ancient  Oriental  teacher,  and  the 
modern  teacher,  both  teach  the  same  thing, — 
namely,  that  nations  can  have  genuine  and  lasting 
prosperity  only  on  condition  that  they  continue  to 
pattern,  themselves  after  the  eternal  principles  of 
righteousness?"  His  answer  was:  "They  tell  us 
this,  because  it  is  so."  And  "  surely,"  he  added 
with  much  impressiveness,  "  it  is  time  that  we  were 
all  governing  our  actions  in  accordance  with  so  im- 
portant a  truth." 

After  the  aged  speaker  had  taken  his  seat  again, 
a  much  younger  man,  the  Vice-Mayor  of  the  city, 
arose;  and  beginning  by  expressing  his  hearty 
agreement  with  the  sentiments  of  the  last  speaker, 
he  proceeded  to  emphasise  the  truth  with  passion- 
ate fervour,  and  wound  up  his  address  by  saying: 
;<  There  are  enough  of  us,  one  hundred  and  fifty  lead- 
ing citizens  of  Osaka,  seated  around  this  table  here 
to-night,  to  change  the  whole  moral  condition  of 


122         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

the  city,  and  to  redeem  it  from  its  deservedly  bad 
reputation,  if  only  we  truly  and  fixedly  will  to 
have  it  so." 

Several  months  later  I  had  another  similar  experi- 
ence, which  I  mention  here,  because  it  illustrates 
so  well  the  extraordinary  interest  in  moral  issues 
which  characterised  the  disposition  of  the  nation 
at  the  close  of  the  Russo-Japanese  war,  and  which 
made  itself  felt  in  so  powerful  a  way  upon  all  the 
audiences  which  I  addressed  during  the  year  of  my 
stay.  Toward  the  close  of  the  course  of  lectures 
and  addresses  at  Sendai,  I  was  invited  to  visit  the 
barracks  where  twenty-five  or  thirty  thousand  of 
the  recruits  for  the  Japanese  army  are  regularly 
undergoing  their  preparation  for  service.  After 
I  had  been  shown  about  the  entire  establishment  by 
an  escort  of  under-officers,  the  General  in  com- 
mand, a  distinguished  veteran  of  the  Russo-Japa- 
nese war,  called  me  into  his  private  office.  There, 
he  first  of  all  assured  me  that  he  had  followed  the  ac- 
counts of  the  lectures  and  addresses  as  they  had 
been  published  in  the  various  papers,  and  then 
thanked  me  for  what  had  been  done  in  general  for 
the  good  of  his  country;  but,  more  particularly,  for 
the  assistance  rendered  to  him  personally  in  his  work 
of  training  the  young  men  for  the  Japanese  army. 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       123 

Upon  surprise  being  expressed  as  to  how  such  a 
thing  could  be,  the  General  began  to  explain  his 
statement  as  follows :  His  great  difficulty  was  not  in 
teaching  the  manual  of  arms  or  the  proper  way  to 
manoeuvre  upon  the  field  of  battle.  His  great  dif- 
ficulty was  in  giving  these  recruits  the  necessary 
"spiritual"  training  (I  use  his  word,  and  explain 
it  to  mean, — The  moral  spirit  which  animates  the 
upright  and  knightly  soldier,  the  spirit  which,  in 
the  Japanese  language,  is  called  "Bushido").  At 
this  I  again  expressed  surprise  and  a  wish  for  fur- 
ther light  upon  his  kindly  remark.  He  then  went 
on  to  say  that  since  the  Government  had  reduced 
the  term  of  required  service  from  three  years  to 
two,  the  time  was  more  than  ever  all  too  short  to 
inculcate  and  enforce  the  right  moral  spirit  on 
youths,  many  of  whom  came  from  homes  in  which 
this  spirit  by  no  means  prevailed.  But  a  profound 
moral  impression  had  been  made  upon  the  teach- 
ers in  the  public  schools  all  over  the  land;  the 
teachers  would  take  these  moral  teachings  and  im- 
press them  upon  the  pupils  under  their  charge;  and 
"  these  are  the  boys  that  will  later  come  to  me.'* 
When  my  thoughts  turned  homeward — as,  of  course, 
they  were  bound  promptly  to  do, — they  awakened 
a  strange  mixture  of  feelings  of  amusement  and  of 


i24         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

concern ;  of  the  former,  when  the  effort  was  made  to 
imagine  any  remotely  similar  conversation  occurring 
with  a  General  or  a  recruiting  officer  there;  and  of 
concern,  at  the  obvious  decline  of  the  spirit  of  pa- 
triotism in  the  United  States,  as  evinced  by  the  al- 
most purely  mercenary  way  in  which  all  branches 
of  the  public  service  have  come  to  be  regarded  by 
the  body  of  the  people.  That  it  is  difficult  to  keep 
the  ranks  of  our  small  standing  army  filled  by  of- 
fers of  big  pay,  much  leisure,  and  opportunities  for 
foreign  travel,  is  significant,  not  so  much  because 
of  a  growing  and,  perhaps,  reasonable  distaste  for 
a  military  career,  as  of  a  prevalent  conviction  that 
the  nation  is  bound  to  serve  individual  and  class 
interests  rather  than  the  individual  and  the  class 
to  serve  the  interests  of  the  nation. 

The  most  thoughtful  leaders  of  Japan  are  at 
present  exceedingly  fearful  that  those  more  seri- 
ous and  self-reliant  traits,  which  I  have  chiefly  se- 
lected to  characterise,  may  succumb  to  the  incom- 
ing flood  of  commercial  avarice,  and  of  the  love 
of  comfort  and  luxury.  And  they  have  grave  rea- 
sons to  be  afraid.  But  I  leave  on  record  my  testi- 
mony to  the  truth  that  immediately  after  the  close 
of  the  great  war  with  Russia,  the  nation  of  Japan 
was  not  only  willing  to  hear,  but  even  coveted  to 


JAPANESE    AUDIENCES       125 

hear,  how  it  might  prepare  itself  by  intelligent  ad- 
herence to  sound  moral  principles — in  education,  in 
business,  in  the  army  and  navy, — for  an  era  of 
genuine  and  lasting  prosperity,  at  peace  with  the 
rest  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER    VI 

GARDENS    AND    GARDEN    PARTIES 

To  UNDERSTAND  thoroughly  and  appreciate  justly 
the  theory  and  history  of  the  art  of  landscape  and 
other  gardening  in  Japan  would  require  the  study 
of  a  life-time.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  foreigner 
could  accomplish  this  task  even  at  the  expense  of 
so  great  devotion; — so  subtle  and  in  some  respects 
bizarre  and  whimsical  is  the  philosophy  of  nature 
implied  in  the  tenets  of  some  of  the  various  schools. 
The  native  experts,  too,  take  the  same  delight  in 
minute  distinctions,  and  in  the  arguments  urged  in 
support  of  them,  in  the  field  of  aesthetics,  which 
characterises  the  speculations  of  Japanese  Bud- 
dhism in  the  field  of  religion.  And,  indeed,  in 
Japan,  as  everywhere  else  in  the  world,  the  philos- 
ophy of  nature  and  the  philosophy  of  art  are  both 
closely  related  to  ideas  and  sentiments  of  at  least  a 
genuine  quasi-religious  character.  I  shall  therefore 
make  no  attempt  to  discourse  on  so  abstruse  and 
difficult  matters. 

It  may  safely  be  said,  however,  that  the  art  of 
landscape-gardening,  as  it  has  developed  in  Japan, 

126 


GARDEN    PARTIES  127 

has  the  general  features  which  are  common  to  all 
forms  of  Japanese  art.  According  to  Baron  Kuki, 
official  custodian  of  the  Emperor's  art  treasures, 
these  are,  chiefly,  the  following  three :  "  The  first 
is  mildness  and  pure  simplicity.  Colouring  is  for 
the  most  part  sober  and  plain,  and  very  seldom 
gorgeous.  Japanese  art  prefers  moderation  and 
genial  ease  to  excessive  grandeur;  sobriety  and 
chastity  to  profundity,  intensity,  and  vulgarity. 
Even  such  horror-inspiring  subjects  as  the  pictures 
of  hell  are  not  thrilling  in  effect.  The  statue  of 
Buddha  at  Nara  is  grand,  but  it  is  only  the  high- 
water  mark  of  Continental  influence,  and  does  not 
represent  the  pure  Japanese  disposition. 

"The  second  characteristic  of  Japanese  art  is  its 
exquisite  lightness  or  delicacy.  This  is  due  to  the 
joyful  frame  of  the  people's  mind,  and  to  the 
wonderful  dexterity  of  their  hands.  There  is  no 
artistic  product  which  is  not  marked  by  charming 
workmanship. 

"  The  third  feature  is  its  idealism  in  representa- 
tion. Japanese  art  is  not  realistic,  it  does  not  aim 
at  photographic  accuracy;  but  by  the  free  and  bold 
exercise  of  imagination,  it  tries  to  abstract  the  es- 
sential aspect  of  objects,  and  to  give  expression  to 
the  artist's  sentiments  by  its  portrayal.  It  is  for 


128         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

this  reason  that  form  is  comparatively  little  re- 
garded, while  idea  is  considered  all-important;  that 
it  is  weak  in  realistic  delineation  and  strong  in  dec- 
orative design.  These  three  characteristics  under- 
lie all  Japanese  art,  and  distinguish  it  from  the  art 
of  other  Oriental  nations." 

So  far  as  I  am  able  to  recognise  these  character- 
istics as  present  in  the  gardens  which  I  have  seen, 
they  have  resulted  in  certain  marked  excellencies 
and  in  certain  scarcely  less  marked  defects.  These 
gardens  are  to  a  degree  realistic,  in  that  they  try  to 
present  a  picture  of  all  the  principal  features  of  na- 
ture,— oftentimes,  and  indeed  generally,  within  a 
small  and  seemingly  inadequate  amount  of  space. 
Miniature  mountains,  rivers,  lakes,  water-falls,  forest, 
and  stretches  of  sea-coast,  may  be  comprised  within 
the  grounds  of  a  gentleman's  ordinary  estate,  or 
even  within  the  few  square-feet  of  the  humbler  citi- 
zen's back-yard.  And  it  is  uniformly  the  back- 
yard in  Japan,  where  the  grounds  for  "  plaisance  " 
are  situated.  Even  a  platter  or  other  dish  may  be 
made  the  receptacle  for  a  garden  which  shall  essay 
to  hold  up  to  view  a  picture  of  those  complex  artis- 
tic achievements  that  are  accomplished  by  nature 
on  a  so  much  larger  scale. 

It  is  not  "pure  nature,"  or  nature  untamed  and 


GARDEN    PARTIES  129 

wild,  which  the  Japanese  art  of  gardening  aims 
simply  to  reproduce  and  to  represent.  It  is  nature 
excessively  combed  and  trimmed;  or — to  present 
the  thought  in  more  carefully  chosen  aesthetical 
language — nature  as  she  would  be  if  arranged  and 
arrayed  according  to  the  most  precisely  developed 
ideals  of  the  human  artist.  Every  tree  and  shrub 
must,  then,  be  cultivated  and  pruned  with  attention 
to  the  details  of  each  stem  and  twig;  even  the  de- 
cayed or  superfluous  leaves,  or  the  needles  and 
cones  from  the  pine  trees,  require  to  be  picked 
away.  On  visiting  the  famous  garden  of  Count 
Okuma,  in  the  late  Autumn,  we  found  two-score 
and  more  of  persons,  working  under  expert  direc- 
tion in  this  way.  The  same  pains  is  taken  in  hold- 
ing up  to  view  the  work  of  nature  in  marring  her 
own  products  or  in  removing  them  utterly,  in  order 
to  make  room  for  the  fresh  creations  of  her  bounte- 
ous life.  Worn  rocks,  worm-eaten  woods,  bare 
trunks,  broken  stumps,  and  all  the  other  results  of 
the  ceaseless  forces  that  minister  decay  and  death, 
have  an  important  place  in  the  Japanese  art  of 
gardening.  But  the  worn  stones  must  be  carefully 
placed  and  kept  scrupulously  clean;  the  worm-eaten 
woods  must  be  selected  with  due  regard  to  the  fan- 
tastic patterns  which  have  been  worked  upon  them; 


130        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

the  bare  trunks  and  broken  stumps  need  to  have 
their  shapes  defined  by  the  back-ground  of  foliage 
or  of  open  sky;  for — to  quote  again  from  Baron 
Kuki — the  effort  is  to  "abstract  the  essential  aspect 
of  objects,  and  to  give  expression  to  the  artist's  sen- 
timents by  their  portrayal." 

Only  a  little  reflection  is  necessary  in  order  to 
make  it  evident  that  for  the  aesthetical  apprecia- 
tion of  the  Japanese  garden,  in  its  most  purely  na- 
tive form,  whether  as  originally  imported  from 
China  or  as  developed  on  native  soil,  a  sympathetic 
share  in  this  characteristic,  sentimental  attitude 
toward  nature  is  absolutely  indispensable.  In 
viewing  the  best  examples,  where  the  scale  is  fairly 
generous  and  the  artistic  theories  in  control  have 
not  been  too  individualistic  or  fantastic,  such  sym- 
pathy is  not  difficult  for  one  of  cultivated  aestheti- 
cal taste;  although  the  Japanese  art  may  still  make 
the  impression  of  being  something  unusual  and  for- 
eign. Where,  however,  such  sympathy  is  wanting, 
and  in  the  cases  of  multitudes  of  inferior  examples, 
no  amount  of  this  feeling — or,  at  least,  no  reason- 
able amount — can  easily  prevent  an  unfavorable 
judgment,  on  account  of  the  impression  of  artifi- 
ciality, pettiness,  and  excessive  devotion  to  details, 
without  a  corresponding  largeness  of  spirit.  But 


fIT  IS  NATURE  COMBED  AND  TRIMMED" 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF  /J 


GARDEN    PARTIES  131 

when  one  recognises  the  amount  of  innocent  enjoy- 
ment, and  of  a  valuable  sort  of  aesthetical  educa- 
tion and  refinement — for  the  Japanese  garden  is 
seldom  or  never  vulgar, — which  comes  to  the 
homes  of  the  lowly  in  this  way,  one's  criticism  is 
either  totally  disarmed  or  greatly  modified  in  its 
points  of  view.  Indeed,  there  is  no  nation  in 
Europe  or  America  to  whom  the  Japanese  may  not 
give  valuable  lessons  in  the  art  of  the  quiet,  sooth- 
ing, and  refining  enjoyment  of  nature  and  of  out- 
of-door  recreations,  to  the  discredit  and  relative 
neglect  of  those  coarser  and  more  exhausting  ways 
of  enjoying  themselves  which  these  other  nations 
prefer.  Moon-viewing,  cherry-blossom  viewing, 
and  mushroom-gathering  parties  may  seem  to  us 
lacking  in  "  strong "  inducements,  as  modes  of 
pleasure-seeking;  but  the  men  and  women  who  have 
made  an  art  of  cultivating  them — and  these  have 
been  among  the  greatest  in  the  history  of  Japan — 
certainly  can  no  longer  be  considered  as  a  nation  of 
dilettanti  or  of  weaklings. 

It  is  a  not  uncommon  impression,  even  on  the 
part  of  those  who  have  visited  the  country,  that 
Japan  is  a  "  land  unrivalled  in  the  beauty  and 
abundance  of  its  flowers, — a  belief  that  nature  has 
lavished  her  floral  gifts  with  special  favour  upon 


132         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

these  sunny  islands  of  the  Far  East."  But  as  Mr. 
Conder  points  out  in  his  admirable  book  upon 
"  The  Floral  Art  of  Japan,"  in  the  sense  of  "  pro- 
fusion in  wild  floral  plants,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
certain  Western  countries  possess  attractions  which 
Japanese  scenery  can  scarcely  boast."  And  al- 
though, as  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  the  comparative 
scarcity  of  groups  of  wild  flowering  plants,  as  a 
colour  feature  to  the  landscape,  is  to  some  extent 
made  up  for  by  the  blossoming  trees,"  the  peculiar 
characteristics  and  values  of  the  Japanese  art  of 
gardening  have  not  been  so  much  derived  from  the 
nature  that  is  without  as  from  the  nature  that,  cen- 
turies ago,  lay  slumbering  within  the  spirit  of  the 
race.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that,  just  as  the 
Japanese  floral  art  does  not  confine  itself  to  the 
aesthetical  treatment  of  "  flowers,"  in  our  narrower 
use  of  the  word,  but,  the  rather,  includes  all  flora  in 
the  botanical  meaning  of  the  term,  so  the  art  of 
gardening  in  Japan  aims  to  take  account  of  all 
forms  of  material  and  of  situations  and  even  of  re- 
mote suggestions,  which  fall  within  the  limits  of 
man's  artistic  control.  "  The  secret,  then,  of 
Japan's  floral  fame  and  floral  enchantment  lies 
rather  in  the  care  that  her  people  bestow  upon  Na- 


GARDEN    PARTIES  133 

ture's  simpler  gifts  than  in  any  transcendent  wealth 
of  production." 

"  Flower-viewing  excursions,  together  with  such 
pastimes  as  Shell* gathering,  Mushroom-picking, 
and  Moon-viewing,  form  the  favourite  occupations 
of  the  holiday  seeker  throughout  the  year.  By  a 
pretty  fancy,  even  the  snow-clad  landscape  is  re- 
garded as  Winter's  floral  display,  and  Snow-view- 
ing is  included  as  one  of  the  flower  festivals  of  the 
year.  The  Chinese  calendar,  used  formerly  by  the 
Japanese,  fitted  in  admirably  with  the  poetical  suc- 
cession of  flowers.  Haru,  the  Japanese  Spring, 
opened  with  the  New  Year,  which  commenced  about 
February,  and  was  heralded  by  the  appearance  of 
the  plum  blossoms. " 

Floral  art  in  Japan,  therefore,  makes  extensive 
and  effective  use  of  flowerless  trees,  as  well  as  of 
flowers,  and  flowering  shrubs  and  flowering  trees. 
Among  such  flowerless  trees,  the  most  important 
is  the  pine;  and  this  hardy  evergreen  is  found 
almost  everywhere  in  the  mountain  and  coast 
scenery  of  the  country,  and  in  all  the  gardens, 
as  well  as  in  a  large  proportion  of  the  flo- 
ral arrangements  designed  for  in-door  enjoyment. 
In  its  natural  growth  and  struggle  against  the  vio- 


134         RARE     DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

lent  winds,  it  is  habitually  so  quaintly  distorted  that 
the  miniature  representations  in  the  smallest  gar- 
dens and  in  tiny  pots,  are  scarcely  at  all  exagger- 
ated. Then  follow,  in  order  of  preference,  the  bam- 
boo, the  willow,  and  other  flowerless  trees. 

Inside-floral  arrangements  should  have  regard  to 
the  character  and  uses  of  the  room  in  which  they 
are  placed,  to  the  season  of  the  year,  to  the  nature 
of  the  festival  or  other  ceremonial  occasion  which 
they  may  chance  to  celebrate,  to  the  other  art-ob- 
jects and  the  furniture  of  the  same  and  adjoining 
rooms,  and  to  the  scenery  of  the  garden  and  the  re- 
moter landscape  upon  which  the  room  opens.  To 
quote  again  from  Mr.  Conder:  "  Some  writers  go 
so  far  as  to  say  that  the  floral  design  in  a  chamber 
should  have  a  contrast  in  style  with  that  of  the  ad- 
joining garden.  This  fancy  is  better  appreciated 
if  it  be  remembered  that  during  a  great  part  of  the 
year  the  outer  walls  of  the  Japanese  house,  which 
consist  almost  entirely  of  paper  slides,  are  thrown 
completely  open.  If  there  be  a  landscape  garden 
adjoining,  consisting  of  lakes  and  hills, "  (and  as  we 
have  already  seen  these  objects  may  exist  in  exceed- 
ingly miniature  form)  "  the  floral  arrangement  in 
the  rooms  should  by  preference  partake  of  a  moor- 
land character;  but  if  the  garden  be  level  and  water- 


GARDEN    PARTIES  135 

less,  then  water  plants  or  mountain  trees  should  be 
selected  for  the  flower  decorations  of  the  chamber 


interior." 


I  have  already  said  that  a  great  deal  of  philos- 
ophy— originally  derived  from  China — together 
with  not  a  few  traditional  superstitions,  underlies 
the  art  of  floral  arrangement  and  the  allied  art  of 
gardening,  in  Japan.  But,  what  is  more  important 
in  its  influence  upon  the  life  of  the  people,  is  this : 
The  expression  and  cultivation  of  virtue,  and  of  the 
religious  spirit, — of  self-denial,  gentleness,  and  the 
forgetfulness  of  cares — are  both  theoretically  and 
in  practice  realisable  and  actually  realised  through 
this  form  of  art. 

Without  retracting  my  previous  disclaimer  of 
the  intention  to  venture  into  the  field  of  philosophy 
in  its  relation  to  the  Japanese  art  of  landscape  and 
other  forms  of  gardening,  I  will  make  this  final 
quotation  from  Mr.  Conder's  treatise  on  the  subject 
of  floral  Arrangement,  in  one  of  the  few  passages 
where  he  extends  his  observations  to  the  wider  fields 
of  the  art  of  gardening.  He  has  been  speaking  of 
the  applications  made  of  the  male  and  female  prin- 
ciples, so  often  referred  to  in  Confucian  philosophy, 
to  contrasts  of  forms,  surfaces,  and  colours,  in  the 
composition  of  floral  material.  "  It  has  ever  been 


136         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

a  favourite  fancy  of  the  Japanese  to  apply  distinc- 
tions of  sex  to  inanimate  nature.  In  natural  scen- 
ery, and  landscape-gardening,  it  is  customary  to  dis- 
criminate between  male  and  female  cascades,  male 
and  female  plants  and  trees,  male  and  female  rocks 
and  stones.  The  distinction  is  not  one  so  much  of 
individual  and  separate  quality  as  of  forms  placed 
in  combination  or  contrast,  and  regarded  as  male  or 
female  in  respect  of  one  another.  Thus  the  main 
torrent  of  a  water-fall  is  considered  masculine,  and 
the  lower  fall  in  proximity  feminine.  In  like  man- 
ner, rocks  used  in  gardening  have  no  distinguishing 
sex,  unless  they  are  placed  in  pairs  or  groups.  In 
the  case  of  two  stones  of  different  character  placed 
side  by  side,  the  one  of  bolder  and  more  vigorous 
shape  will  be  called  the  malet  and  the  other  the 
female  stone.  Curious  as  such  fancies  may  seem, 
they  are  of  considerable  value  when  applied  in  the 
arts  of  design,  their  observance  helping  to  produce 
that  harmony  of  well-balanced  contrasts  which 
should  pervade  all  artistic  composition." 

Another  striking  illustration  of  the  influence  of 
quasi-moral  and  religious  sentiment  over  this  form 
of  art  is  to  be  seen  in  the  use  made  of  the  lotus 
in  the  landscape  gardening  of  Japan.  "  The  lotus 
is  closely  connected  with  the  Buddhist  religion,  and 


GARDEN    PARTIES  137 

is,  therefore,  associated  in  the  minds  of  the  people 
with  spirit-land.  The  lakes  of  the  temple  grounds, 
especially  those  dedicated  to  the  water  goddess  Ben- 
ten,  are  frequently  planted  with  lotuses.  .  .  . 
Wherever  undisturbed  pools  and  channels  of  muddy 
water  exist,  the  lotus  is  to  be  found,  and  even  the 
ditches  beside  the  railway  connecting  Tokyo  with 
the  port  of  Yokohama  are  rendered  gay  in  the 
Summer  by  the  lotus  flowers  in  bloom.  As  the 
peony  is  said  to  be  the  national  flower  of  China, 
so  the  lotus  is  regarded  as  the  national  flower  of 
India,  the  source  and  centre  of  Buddhism.  It  is 
therefore  considered  out  of  place  as  a  decoration 
for  occasions  of  festivity  and  rejoicing,  but  is  con- 
stantly used  for  obsequies  and  other  sacred  cere- 
monies. The  lotus  serves  as  suitable  theme  for  relig- 
ious contemplation "  (and  according  to  the  psy- 
chologically true  thought  of  the  Japanese,  the  most 
fit  and  profitable  place  for  such  mental  exercises 
is  in  the  open  air,  and  under  the  sane  and  soothing 
and  uplifting  influences  of  nature)  "  and  is  the  fa- 
vourite flower  of  monastic  and  temple  retreats;  the 
best  displays  are  to  be  seen  in  the  lakes  of  the 
old  temple  groves  of  Kyoto  and  other  cities. 
Growing  out  of  the  muddiest  and  most  stagnant 
water,  its  leaves  and  flowers  are  always  fresh  and 


138         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

clean;  although  it  is  particularly  sensitive  and 
quickly  withers  if  brought  in  contact  with  any  of 
the  fertilisers  by  which  other  plants  are  nour- 
ished. This  purity  which  the  lotus  maintains 
amid  surrounding  filth  is  mentioned  as  one  rea- 
son for  associating  this  plant  with  the  religious 
life.  A  well-known  book  of  Buddhist  precepts 
contains  this  text : — '  If  thou  be  born  in  the  poor 
man's  hovel,  but  hast  wisdom,  then  art  thou  like 
the  lotus  flower  growing  out  of  the  mud/  ' 

The  most  beautiful  and  perfect  of  the  gardens 
of  Japan,  in  the  old-fashioned  Chino-Japanese 
style,  which  I  have  ever  seen,  are  the  Korakuen 
in  Tokyo,  and  the  Katsura-no-Rikyu  in  Kyoto. 
The  former  was  originally  the  garden  of  the  Prince 
of  Mito,  the  site  of  whose  mansion  is  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Koishikawa  Arsenal.  Thus  the  quiet 
beauty  of  the  art  of  the  "  Old  Japan  "  is  brought 
into  contrast  with  the  preparations  for  displaying 
its  strength  of  the  "  New  Japan."  But  the  garden 
remains  intact;  and  it  is  justly  pronounced  "the 
finest  specimen  of  the  Japanese  landscape  gardener's 
art  to  be  seen  in  the  capital."  It  is  not  seen,  how- 
ever, by  most  visitors  to  Japan,  both  because  they 
do  not  take  an  interest  in,  or  know  where  to  look 
for  the  best  things,  and  also  because  a  special  order 


GARDEN    PARTIES  139 

is  neccessary  to  gain  admittance  to  it.  The  very 
name  is  an  embodiment  of  the  finest  philosophical 
sentiment  with  regard  to  the  relations  in  which  the 
leisurely  enjoyment  of  nature  stands  to  the  sterner 
duties  of  a  devoted  human  life.  It  is  derived  from 
three  Chinese  words: — Ko  ("afterward")  Ra 
("pleasure"),  and  Kuen  ("garden").  It  is, 
therefore,  an  "  afterward-pleasure-garden  "  ; — the 
thought  being  that  the  wise  man  has  his  anxieties 
earlier  than  others,  is  beforehand,  so  to  say,  in 
thoughtful  care;  but  his  pleasures  come  later. 

The  original  plan  of  Korakuen  was  to  reproduce 
many  of  the  scenes  of  the  country  with  which  the 
literati  were  familiar — at  least,  by  their  names.  And 
Prince  Mito  had  it  laid  out  as  a  place  in  which  to  en- 
joy a  calm  old  age  after  a  life  of  labour.  One  of  its 
miniature  lakes  is  copied  from  a  celebrated  lake  in 
China.  A  temple  on  a  wooded  hill  is  a  replica  of 
a  famous  temple  in  Kyoto.  Again,  a  bridge  and 
zigzag  path  lead  to  a  shrine  famous  in  Chinese  his- 
tory; and  then  we  come  to  an  arched  stone  bridge 
and  another  shrine  which  has  an  octagonal  shape 
in  allusion  to  the  Eight  Diagrams  of  the  Chinese 
system  of  divination.  Everywhere  there  are  magni- 
ficent trees,  which  were  selected  so  as  to  have  some 
one  species  at  the  heighth  of  its  beauty  at  each 


140        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

season  of  the  year;  thus  there  are  cherry-trees  for 
the  Spring,  maples  for  the  Autumn,  and  plum-trees 
for  the  Winter. 

An  attendant  who  was  to  serve  as  an  escort  was 
already  in  waiting,  when  we  and  the  Japanese  lady 
whom  we  accompanied  arrived  at  the  gate;  and 
somewhat  later  General  Nishimura,  the  Govern- 
ment officer  in  charge  of  the  Arsenal,  joined  us. 
After  we  had  taken  tea  and  had  a  pleasant  chat 
with  him  we  were  given  the  very  unusual  privilege 
of  taking  several  photographs  of  different  parts  of 
the  garden,  among  them  one  or  two  of  a  group, 
which  included  the  General  himself. 

The  Katsura-no-Rikyu,  or  Katsura  Summer  Pal- 
ace, was  formerly  a  retreat  made  for  a  Princess  of 
the  Imperial  family  by  this  name.  It  is  now  one 
of  the  four  so-called  "  Palaces  of  the  Mikado  " — 
more  properly  speaking  there  are  two  palaces  and 
two  villas, — in  the  city  and  suburbs  of  the  ancient 
capital.  Permits  must  be  obtained  from  the  De- 
partment of  the  Household,  in  order  to  visit  any 
of  these  palaces;  and  when  I  was  first  in  Japan, 
in  1892,  they  were  much  more  difficult  to  secure 
than  they  are  now.  Through  Marquis,  then  Count, 
Matsukata,  who  was  at  that  time  Prime  Minister, 
the  necessary  permission  was  obtained;  and  the  same 


GARDEN    PARTIES  141 

kindly  service  furnished  me  with  a  letter  to  the 
Governor  of  the  District  of  Kyoto,  who  sent  his 
private  secretary  to  act  as  an  escort  to  all  the  four 
palaces.  This  was  particularly  good  fortune;  for 
this  gentleman,  in  his  youth,  had  served  on  the  side 
of  the  Mikado's  forces  in  their  contest  against  the 
forces  of  the  Shogunate;  he  was  thus  able  to  point 
out  many  details  of  interest — among  them,  the  deface- 
ments of  the  decorations  of  the  Nijo  Palace,  that 
"  dream  of  golden  beauty  within,1'  which  were  made 
by  these  young  patriots,  who  thought  in  this  way 
to  show  their  contempt  for  the  Shogun,  and  for 
ancient  art,  and  their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the 
Mikado  and  of  progress. 

The  garden  of  the  Katsura  Summer  Palace  rep- 
resents the  style  of  the  art  which  was  practised  by 
Kobori  Enshu  and  his  "  School."  These  men  were 
as  aristocratic  in  their  tastes  as  they  were  enthusi- 
astic in  teaching  and  practising  their  theories  of  the 
arts.  According  to  their  canons,  everything  was  to 
be  exceedingly  plain  and  simple;  and  all  the  other 
arts  were  to  be  combined  in  the  celebration  of  the 
cha-no~yu,  or  tea  ceremonies.  Indeed  this  garden, 
and  all  the  buildings  and  other  structures  in  it,  may 
be  said  to  be  planned  for  use  in  the  highest  kind 
of  style  belonging  to  such  aesthetic  enjoyment.  Its 


142         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

exceedingly  plain  summer-houses  are,  accordingly, 
so  placed  as  to  look  out  on  modest  pools  and  arti- 
ficial streams,  on  plain  rustic  bridges  and  winding 
paths  over  rude  moss-covered  stepping-stones, 
brought  from  the  two  extremities  of  the  Empire. 
Everywhere  there  are  trees  of  various  species  and 
trained  in  manifold  artificial  shapes;  there  are  also 
moss-clad  hillocks  and  a  goodly  store  of  antique 
lanterns;  and  in  the  lake  there  are  islets  deftly 
placed.  The  lake  itself  is  full  of  the  water-plant 
Kohone,  which  here  has  red  flowers  as  well  as  the 
usual  yellow  ones. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  describe  or  even  refer  to 
the  more  celebrated  of  the  temple  gardens,  such  as 
Kinkakuji  and  Ginkakuji,  in  Kyoto;  or  the  groves 
surrounding  the  Tombs  of  the  Shoguns  in  Shiba 
and  at  Nikko ;  or  the  park  at  Nara,  and  other  nearly 
or  quite  flowerless  specimens  of  the  art  of  gardening 
in  Japan;  for  has  not  everyone  who  has  spent  not 
more  than  a  single  week  in  the  country  seen  them 
all;  and  are  they  not  all  sufficiently  described  in 
the  guide-books? 

The  more  beautiful  of  the  modern  gardens  in 
Japan,  while  retaining  the  most  admirable  features 
of  the  native  art,  have  succeeded  in  adding  some- 
thing which  it  formerly  lacked  and  in  avoiding  more 


GARDEN    PARTIES  143 

fully  its  suggestion  of  pettiness  and  of  artificiality. 
This  they  have  accomplished  by  allowing  a  larger 
freedom  from  ancient  conventions  and  conceits  in  the 
way  both  of  modifying  the  native  traditions  and 
of  introducing  foreign  elements.  And  since  in  the 
best  private  gardens  there  has  been  a  most  judi- 
cious selection  and  combination  of  natural  resources 
and  aesthetical  ideals,  there  are  some  examples  of 
the  art  of  landscape-gardening  in  Japan,  which  are 
not  excelled,  if  indeed  they  are  equalled,  by  anything 
else  of  the  kind. 

I  do  not  expect  ever  to  see  again  a  landscape, 
prepared  and  cultivated  by  human  skill,  quite  so 
perfectly  beautiful  as  was  the  Imperial  garden  at 
Aoyama,  on  the  afternoon  of  November  16,  1906, 
when  the  annual  "  chrysanthemum  party "  was 
given  there  to  His  Majesty's  guests.  The  rainy 
weather  of  the  days  preceding  had  prevented  the 
Imperial  party  from  attending  the  festivities  in 
person.  But  it  had  added  something  to  the  custom- 
ary charm  of  the  landscape ;  for  the  showers  had  fresh- 
ened all  the  colours  of  ground  and  foliage  and  sky, 
and  the  moist  haze  was  now  producing  that  ex- 
quisite softness  and  blending  of  them  all  which  is 
so  characteristic  of  the  "atmosphere"  of  Japanese 
natural  scenery  and  of  Japanese  pictorial  art.  The 


144        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

size  of  the  garden  and  the  manner  of  its  artistic 
treatment  render  it,  in  some  of  its  features,  more 
like  an  English  deer-park  than  are  any  of  the 
gardens  of  the  more  purely  Chino-Japanese  style. 
There  were  large  pines  and  maples  and  autumn 
camelias  of  wonderful  growth.  There  was  great 
variety  to  the  surface,  both  natural  and  helped  out 
by  art;  and  on  such  a  generous  scale  as  nowhere  to 
suggest  artificiality  or  pettiness.  The  hills  were 
real  hills,  and  worthy  of  the  name;  they  made  the 
assembling  guests  climb  their  sides  and  gave  them 
new  and  extended  views  as  a  reward  when  they 
had  reached  their  tops.  There  were  also  many 
ponds  and  winding  streams,  with  picturesque  curved 
bridges  crossing  the  streams.  But  most  conclu- 
sive of  all  the  proofs  of  the  highest  aesthetical 
skill  was  the  arrangement  of  all  the  larger  and 
the  minuter  features,  from  whatever  point  of  view 
one  held  them  in  regard.  The  most  brilliantly 
coloured  maples,  of  the  cut-leaf  variety,  were  planted 
singly  rather  than  in  groups;  and  every  detail  of 
their  delicate  shapes  was  carefully  brought  out 
against  a  background  of  the  dark  green  of  pines  or 
the  golden  yellow  of  the  jinko  tree.  As  one  strolled 
up  any  of  the  several  winding  paths  that  led  to  the 
high  plateau  on  which  the  show  of  chrysanthemums 


GARDEN    PARTIES  145 

was  placed,  one  could  stop  at  almost  every  step  and 
admire  the  change  of  far-reaching  vistas  or  nearer 
views;  and  over  every  square  yard  of  the  whole, 
not  only  each  tree  and  shrub,  but  each  twig  and 
leaf,  seemed  to  have  been  made  an  object  of 
loving  care. 

To  speak  of  the  show  of  flowers,  the  entertain- 
ment, and  the  friends  we  met  on  this  occasion  would 
savour  more  of  gossip  about  garden  parties  than  of 
description  of  the  art  of  landscape-gardening.  But 
a  word  about  the  flowers.  I  am  of  the  impression 
that  while  we  raise  in  this  country  as  fine,  or  finer, 
individual  chrysanthemums,  the  Japanese  excel  us 
in  the  culture  and  development  of  the  whole  plant. 
For  example,  some  of  the  specimens  shown  at  this 
Imperial  garden  party  had  as  many  as  985  flowers  on 
a  single  stock,  making  a  plant  fourteen  feet  in  cir- 
cumference; and  others  had  no  fewer  than  fifty-five 
varieties  growing  from  one  stock.  The  more  prop- 
erly artistic  character  of  the  show,  however,  was 
maintained  by  the  elegant  and  simple  arrangement 
of  the  single  flowers  as  to  colour  and  other  kindred 
effects. 

Among  the  private  gardens  in  Japan  which  have 
combined  the  excellences  of  the  native  art  with 
certain  modifications  introduced  from  abroad,  may 


i46        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

be  mentioned  those  of  Count  Okuma  and  Marquis 
Nabeshima.  The  former  seems  to  me  to  have  been 
more  influenced  by  English  examples;  it  has  a  re- 
markable collection  of  Japanese  maples, — more 
than  one  hundred  varieties  in  all.  The  Count  is 
also  quite  justly  proud  of  his  chrysanthemums, 
which  are  as  fine  as  any  in  Japan.  On  the  other 
hand  the  Marquis1  garden  has  the  appearance  of 
having  been  under  the  influence  of  Italian  examples, 
— not,  indeed,  of  the  older  and  more  artificial  style, 
but  of  the  sort  surrounding  the  more  beautiful  of 
the  modern  villas. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  fondness  of  the 
Japanese  for  exceedingly  minute  representations  of 
large  natural  objects,  or  even  of  extensive  natural 
scenes.  Hence  those  single  specimens  or  collections 
of  Bonsai,  on  which  certain  wealthy  aesthetes  have 
spent  thousands  of  yen,  and  which  may  render  their 
possessors  as  much  the  objects  of  friendly  or  en- 
vious rivalry  as  were  the  rival  cultivators  of  rare 
species  of  tulips,  in  Holland  some  decades  of 
years  ago.  Some  of  these  aforesaid  Bonsai  are  tiny 
pines  or  other  trees,  only  a  few  inches  in  heighth, 
but  of  years  mounting  up  to  a  half  century  or  more. 
Such  specimens  require  more  tender  and  intelligent 
cultural  care  than  the  majority  of  human  beings 


GARDEN    PARTIES  147 

are  wont  to  receive.  One  of  the  most  delightful 
and  benevolent  and  widely  useful  of  Japanese  ladies 
never  travels  from  home  even  for  a  single  night 
without  taking  along  her  choice  collection  of  bonsai, 
which  she  cares  for  daily  with  her  own  hands.  This 
same  lady  presented  to  my  wife  one  of  the  products 
of  this  art,  which  consisted  of  scores  of  tiny  pines 
growing  out  of  the  sand  and  so  arranged  that  the 
eye  could  look  through  the  grove  as  though  upon 
the  distant  sea, — a  fairly  complete  picture  in  minia- 
ture of  a  celebrated  view  in  Kiushiu,  along  the  sea- 
shore near  Fukuoka. 

In  Japan  every  national  festival  and,  indeed,  al- 
most every  form  of  social  gathering  or  species  of 
entertainment  partakes  more  or  less  of  the  character 
of  a  garden  party.  At  the  remotest  and  meanest  tea- 
house in  the  mountains  or  by  the  sea,  if  the  weather 
permits,  you  take  your  cup  of  tea  where  you  can 
look  upon  a  scene  which  nature  or  man  has  made 
into  a  work  of  art.  If  you  call  upon  a  native  friend, 
you  must  enjoy  the  refreshment  which  is  always 
offered,  either  in  the  garden  or  in  a  room  or  on  a 
verandah,  which  looks  out  upon  a  garden.  At 
every  dinner  party,  when  the  season  is  favourable, 
either  before  the  meal,  or  afterward  in  the  moon- 
light, the  guests  are  expected  to  wander  over  the 


148         RARE     DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

grounds  of  the  host  or  of  the  tea-house  where  the 
entertainment  is  given,  enjoying  its  natural  beau- 
ties. Of  the  various  forms  of  excursioning,  the 
pleasure  of  which  implies  an  appreciation  of  nature, 
—such  as  mushroom-gathering,  snow-viewing,  etc., 
I  have  already  spoken. 

Garden  parties  are  not  infrequently  given  by  the 
more  wealthy  Japanese  at  an  expense  of  thousands 
of  yen.  The  programme  of  one  of  the  most  elabo- 
rate of  those  given  in  Tokyo  in  the  Autumn  of 
1906,  included  not  only  the  inspection  of  the  gar- 
dens and  extensive  museum  of  the  host,  music  and 
refreshments,  but  the  exhibition  of  Japanese  histri- 
onic performances  and  dances,  in  which  actors  and 
scenic  apparatus  were  as  good  as  could  be  seen  in 
the  very  highest-class  theatres.  The  most  elabo- 
rate of  these  histrionic  performances  bore  the  title 
of  "Urashima,"  the  Japanese  Rip  Van  Winkle, 
and  employed  a  dramatis  persona  and  orchestra 
of  twenty-one  persons.  The  description  in  the  pro- 
gramme of  the  First  Scene  reads  as  follows :  "  In 
the  depths  of  the  broad  expanse  of  the  Ocean, 
stands  Ryugu,  the  seagod's  palace,  bathed  in  serene 
moonlight  which  shines  bright  upon  the  corals  and 
emeralds.  Young  fishes  swimming  about  the  pal- 
ace add  to  the  charm  of  the  scene.  The  graceful 


GARDEN    PARTIES  149 

movement  of  the  sea-bream,  the  lively  evolutions  of 
the  lobster,  the  brisk  flouncing  of  the  flounder,  etc., 
are  comically  represented  in  the  Joruri."  Thus 
ran  the  description  of  the  printed  programme.  The 
ill  condition  of  the  weather, — for  it  had  been  rain- 
ing steadily  all  day,  and  the  out-of-door  part  of  the 
entertainment  had  to  be  much  curtailed, — did  not 
prevent  the  several  thousands  of  invited  guests  from 
attending,  or  the  feast  from  being  spread  in  the 
large  refreshment  tent,  which  was  so  arranged  that 
its  open  side  gave  a  view  of  a  fountain  surrounded 
by  chrysanthemums  and  a  beautiful  bit  of  the  gar- 
den beyond. 

About  the  same  time,  another  wealthy  Japanese 
celebrated  an  important  birthday  for  which  the  out- 
of-door  preparations  were  more  elaborate  and  un- 
usual, if  not  so  aesthetically  refined.  Mr.  A 

had  reached  his  sixty-first  year,  a  time  when  Heaven 
should  be  thanked  for  prolonging  one's  life  beyond 
the  customary  span,  and  one's  friends  should  be 
summoned  to  render  fitting  congratulations.  This 
time,  also,  the  weather  was  most  unpropitious ;  but 
the  continued  downpour,  the  soaked  grass,  and 
liquid  mud,  did  not  deter  several  thousands  of 
guests  from  assembling.  The  entire  wall  surround- 
ing the  extensive  grounds  was  solidly  covered  with 


150         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

ground-pine  and  diamond-shaped  medallions  of 
flowers  set  in  at  intervals, — the  whole  outlined  with 
the  national  colours,  red  and  white.  Boards  raised 
and  spread  with  matting  furnished  dry  paths  from 
place  to  place  inside  the  garden,  where  numerous 
booths  of  bamboo  and  ground-pine  were  cleverly 
distributed,  from  which  the  guests  were  served  with 
tea  and  many  kinds  of  cakes,  with  fruit,  and  with 
tobacco  and  beer.  Hundreds  of  little  maids  in  the 
gay  dresses  and  with  the  painted  faces  of  the  profes- 
sional waitress,  were  running  about  everywhere, 
ready  to  bring  the  various  foods  and  drinks.  In 
two  large  tents  "  continuous  performances "  of 
fencing  or  of  a  theatrical  and  other  sort,  were  go- 
ing on;  and  at  the  entrances  of  each  stood  scores  of 
boys  with  Japanese  paper  umbrellas,  employed  in 
escorting  the  rain-bedrizzled  crowd  from  one  booth 
or  tent  to  another.  Several  bands  were  stationed 
here  and  there,  some  playing  foreign  music  and 
others  performing  on  native  instruments. 

But  the  most  astonishing  attempt  at  the  extraor- 
dinary by  way  of  entertainment  took  the  shape  of  a 
miniature  Fuji,  which  was  more  than  seventy-five 
feet  in  heighth,  and  which  could  be  climbed  by  a  spi- 
ral path  from  the  inside.  In  a  clear  day,  a  fine 
view  of  Tokyo  and  its  immediate  and  remoter  sur- 


GARDEN    PARTIES  151 

roundings,  including  the  real  Fuji,  could  have  been 
seen  from  the  platform  at  the  top.  All  the  rooms 
'of  the  house  on  the  garden  side  had  been  thrown 
into  one,  in  which,  on  tables  and  rows  of  steps  were 
arranged  the  store  of  presents  from  the  guests. 
The  greater  number  consisted  of  " katsebushi"  or 
fancy  wooden  boxes  filled  with  dried  fish.  But  be- 
sides, there  were  many  rolls  of  white  and  red  silk, 
for  underwear,  or  for  wadding  kimonos  in  the  cold 
weather;  numerous  screens  decorated  with  the  ap- 
propriate emblems  of  pine,  bamboo  and  plum 
branches,  or  with  cranes  to  signify  wishes  for  long 
life,  and  made  of  a  variety  of  materials  from  candy 
cake  to  bronze;  a  pair  of  rather  more  than  ordina- 
rily well-modelled  bronze  camels,  designed  to  deco- 
rate the  grounds  and  presented  by  four  different 
banks  in  which  the  host  was  a  director. 

In  each  of  the  large  tents  a  camp  fire  of  charcoal 
was  kept  burning,  which  softened  somewhat  the 
damp  air;  and  if  one  was  especially  honoured  with  a 
hibachi  full  of  live  coals  at  the  back,  one  could  sit 
to  see  through  a  play  with  a  fair  amount'  of  com- 
fort. Of  these  histrionic  performances,  the  most  in- 
teresting to  me  was  one  especially  designed  to  typ- 
ify congratulations  and  wishes  for  long  life,  and 
regularly  performed  at  the  period  of  the  New 


152         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

Year's  festivities.  In  it  a  priest  figured  as  the 
guardian  of  a  mystical  bridge  which  led  up  to  Para- 
dise ;  and  over  the  crossing  of  which  a  hermit  from 
the  mountains  contended  with  two  devils,  one  with 
hoary  locks  and  one  with  long  and  tangled  hair  of 
brilliant  red,  who  gnashed  their  tusks  and  danced 
and  stamped  the  ground  with  fury. 

A  very  different  garden  party  was  that  given,  on 
a  similar  occasion,  by  the  Marquis  and  Marchioness 
Nabeshima.  Although  the  date  was  so  much  later, 
the  fifth  of  December,  the  weather  was  all  that 
could  be  desired.  The  engraved  and  embossed 
card  of  invitation,  literally  interpreted,  asked  us  to 
do  the  host  the  honour  of  attending  a  "  sixty-first 
birthday  wine-drinking  party.''  The  Marquis  was 
born  under  that  one  of  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Jap- 
anese zodiac  which  is  called  "  the  sign  of  the 
Horse !  "  It  should  be  explained  that  the  coinci- 
dence of  the  Japanese  reckoning  of  the  periods  of 
life  by  twelves  with  the  Chinese  system  of  reckon- 
ing by  periods  of  ten,  affords  a  reason  for  the  pleas- 
ant fiction  that,  at  sixty-one,  a  man  begins  life  over 
again  by  becoming  a  child  as  it  were.  It  is  there- 
fore proper  to  give  him  presents  adapted  to  the  im- 
provement and  pleasure  and  employment  of  chil- 
dren. The  guests  who  gathered  on  this  occasion 


GARDEN    PARTIES  153 

were  the  elite  of  Tokyo;  and  the  Emperor  and  Em- 
press had  signalised  the  occasion  by  sending  con- 
gratulatory presents.  Some  of  the  presents,  sent  by 
the  various  friends,  were  simple  offerings  in  wooden 
boxes,  of  food,  or  of  crape;  but  others  were  beauti- 
ful and  expensive  dishes  of  silver,  or  bags  of  money 
resting  underneath  effigies  of  the  "  god  of  luck." 
From  an  edge  of  the  garden,  which  overhangs  a 
valley,  Fujiyama  was  to  be  seen  in  the  distance.  Re- 
turning to  the  house,  we  found  that  the  stage  in  the 
ball-room  was  being  used  for  an  exhibition  by  two 
famous  dancers  of  the  old-fashioned  kind  (the 
older  man  said  to  be  the  most  famous  in  Japan), 
who  were  dancing  to  the  music  made  by  six  or  seven 
samisen  players  and  singers,  seated  above  a  chorus 
of  four  or  five  others  who  were  drumming  and 
"  yowling  "  after  the  fashion  of  performers  in  the 
"  No."  At  a  delightful  collation  which  followed, 
the  speech  of  congratulation  to  the  host  was  made 
in  English  by  Prince  Ito,  who  had  just  returned  to 
his  own  country,  for  a  brief  stay,  from  his  work  as 
Resident-General  in  Korea.  This  garden  party  be- 
came the  more  memorable,  because  it  was  while 
walking  in  the  grounds  that  I  was  summoned  to 
meet  the  Prince,  and  receive  the  first  intimation  of 
an  intention,  which  culminated  in  the  invitation  to 


154         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

visit  Korea  as  his  guest  and  "  unofficial  adviser," 
the  following  Spring.  And  now,  alas!  this  great 
statesman  has — to  quote  the  words  of  a  native  paper 
— "  died  for  the  Koreans  at  the  hands  of  a  Korean." 

It  has  been  for  several  years  the  custom  of  Count 
Okuma  to  throw  open  his  beautiful  grounds  to  gar- 
den parties,  not  only  in  the  interest  of  entertaining 
his  many  personal  and  political  friends,  but  also  in 
the  favour  of  an  endless  variety  of  good  causes. 
Here  rare  roses,  and  wonderful  chrysanthemums, 
and  various  native  exhibitions  of  athletic,  or  musi- 
cal, or  histrionic  skill,  may  be  seen ;  here,  also,  prob- 
lems of  state  and  plans  of  beneficence  may  be  dis- 
cussed. 

It  would  be  a  great  mistake,  however,  to  suppose 
that  the  enjoyment  of  the  Japanese  garden  in  a  so- 
cial way  is  confined  to  the  wealthy  and  the  nobles 
with  their  large  estates.  All  over  the  country  the 
multitude  of  the  people  love  nature  and  have  it 
abundantly  at  their  command  to  enjoy  in  quiet 
ways.  In  Tokyo  thousands  of  artisans  and  com- 
mon labourers  and  coolies,  with  wives  and  children, 
will  trudge  for  miles  to  view  the  plum  or  cherry 
blossoms,  or  to  see  the  morning-glorks  open  at  four 
o'clock  of  a  Summer  morning.  The  temple  groves 
on  all  the  many  holidays  are  thronged  with  crowds, 


GARDEN    PARTIES  155 

who  combine  their  unintelligent  and  not  even  half- 
hearted worship  with  a  much  more  intelligent  and 
heartfelt  appreciation  of  the  beauties  of  nature. 
Indeed,  with  these  multitudes',  the  worship  of  the 
departed  ancestor  in  the  family  shrine  in-doors,  and 
the  worship  of  nature  in  the  open  air  constitutes 
their  only  religion. 

How  profoundly  influenced  is  all  the  art  and  all 
the  national  life  of  the  Japanese  by  this  love  and 
aesthetical  appreciation  of  all  forms  of  natural 
beauty,  it  is  not  necessary  to  say  in  detail.  Gardens 
and  garden  parties  are  not  trifling  incidents  or  ac- 
cessories of  man's  existence,  happiness,  and  prog- 
ress, in  Japan;  for  there,  indeed,  they  are  taken 
very  seriously,  and  as  necessaries  of  living  well  and 
happily  at  all. 


CHAPTER    VII 

AT    THE   THEATRE 

IN  Japan,  as  in  most  other  highly  civilised  nations, 
the  origin  and  earliest  developments  of  the  art  of 
dramatic  representation  are  involved  in  much  ob- 
scurity. But,  according  to  Baron  Suyematsu,  the- 
atrical performances  began  to  assume  their  present 
style  about  three  hundred  years  ago.  Centuries 
before  this  time,  however,  there  were  dances  ac- 
companied by  singing  and  instrumental  music, 
which  were  for  the  most  part  performed  in  the 
Shinto  shrines.  The  differences  between  the  two 
principal  kinds  which  characterised  the  Nara  pe- 
riod (709-784  A.  D.)  were  only  slight;  one  of  them 
being  somewhat  more  inclined  toward  the  comic 
and  the  humorous  than  the  other.  It  was  the 
elaboration  of  the  poetic  compositions,  which  were 
adapted  for  accompaniments  with  the  Biwa,  and  the 
introduction  of  historical  narratives,  which  chiefly 
determined  the  style  of  tta  later  theatrical  perform- 
ances. In  the  Ashikaga  era  these  dramatic  per- 
formances became  very  popular  with  the  upper 
classes,  and  were  patronised  by  the  Shogun  himself. 

156 


AT    THE    THEATRE  157 

There  then  not  only  arose  a  class  of  professional 
actors,  but  the  gentry  themselves  began  to  learn  to 
sing  and  even  to  take  pride  in  displaying  their 
dramatic  talents  as  amateurs,  in  the  presence  of 
their  friends.  By  the  more  knightly  of  the  samurai 
and  daimyos,  however,  this  was  justly  regarded  as 
a  mark  of  degeneracy.  But  as  compared  with 
similar  epochs  in  other  forms  of  the  evolution  of 
this  art,  there  are  three  things  which  are  greatly  to 
the  credit  of  the  Japanese.  In  the  first  place, 
among  the  several  hundred  extant  specimens  of 
these  ancient  plays,  there  is  scarcely  to  be  found, 
either  in  words  or  in  the  action,  the  slightest  taint 
of  immoral  suggestion;  secondly,  women  were  not 
tolerated  on  the  stage,  in  combined  action  with  men. 
And  whatever  we  may  think  about  the  position  of 
the  professional  actor,  whether  from  the  moral  or 
the  social  point  of  view,  and  as  viewed  under  condi- 
tions existing  at  the  present  time,  it  cannot  be  de- 
nied that  it  was  to  the  ethical  advantage  of  the 
Feudal  Era  in  Japan  to  have  professional  actors  ex- 
cluded from  so-called  "  good  society." 

As  to  the  literary  character  of  the  so-called  Yo- 
kyoku,  or  written  narrative  to  be  chanted  or  sung  in 
these  dramatic  performances,  of  which  about  three 
hundred  are  extant  belonging  to  the  Ashikaga 


158         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

period,  I  am  quoting  the  authority  of  Baron 
Suyematsu;  although  the  numerous  examples  which 
I  have  myself  witnessed  fully  bear  out  his  high  es- 
timate of  their  literary  merit.  "  They  are  not  so 
long  as  are  the  Greek  or  Roman  dramas;  although 
their  construction  has  some  similarity,  for  the  words 
uttered  by  the  actors  are  not  limited  to  dialogues 
but  contain  descriptive  parts  as  well.  Thus  when 
the  actor  representing  a  certain  character  appears  on 
the  stage,  he  generally  announces  who  he  is,  why  he 
has  come  there,  where  he  is  going  to,  and  such  like 
things.  The  method  of  playing  has  a  certain  simi- 
larity to  the  modern  European  opera,  for  the  words 
uttered  by  the  characters  are  sung  an'd  not  spoken 
all  through.  The  general  features  of  the  play 
show  that  these  works  were  greatly  influenced  by 
Buddhism.  This  is  due,  in  the  first  place,  to  the 
fact  that  this  religion  exercised  much  influence  over 
the  mind  of  the  people  at  large;  and  in  the  second 
place  to  the  fact  that  the  playwrights  were  mostly 
priests.  From  the  scholastic  point  of  view,  the  sen- 
tences in  these  plays  are  not  free  from  defects,  but 
they  are  strong  in  the  poetical  element;  and  some 
parts  of  these  works  cannot  be  too  highly  praised. 
The  Yokyoku  and  No"  (or  the  acting,  which  was 
in  every  minutest  detail  adapted  to  the  words  and 


AT    THE    THEATRE  159 

strictly,  even  inexorably  prescribed)  "  may  be 
called  the  classical  drama  of  Japan.  They  enjoy 
the  favour  of  the  upper  classes  even  to  this  day,  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  opera  flourishes  side  by  side 
with  the  ordinary  theatre." 

As  respects  the  motif  and  the  moral  and  religious 
significance  and  influence  of  both  the  acting  and  the 
words,  the  dramas  called  by  the  name  "  No  "  much 
more  resembled  the  miracle  plays  of  Mediaeval 
Europe  than  the  operas  of  the  present  day.  The 
literary  merit  and  artistic  skill  in  acting  of  the 
Japanese  form  of  the  art  is,  however,  far  superior. 
The  No  performances  of  the  present  day  are,  there- 
fore, well  deserving  of  the  separate  consideration 
which  they  will  receive  in  another  chapter. 

From  the  dramas  composed  by  the  Buddhist 
priests  in  times  when  the  philosophical  and  reli- 
gious conceptions  of  Buddhism  were  profound, 
powerful,  and  effective,  to  the  Shibai  or  Kabuki 
theatres  of  the  common  people  of  Japan,  the  de- 
scent is  in  every  respect  considerable.  The  origin 
of  these  theatres  was  of  a  distinctly  lower  order. 
The  Kabuki  is  said  to  have  originated  in  the  danc- 
ing and  singing  of  a  woman  named  Kuni,  per- 
formed among  other  shows  on  a  rude  stage  on  the 
river  side  at  Kyoto.  While,  then,  the  actors  in  No 


OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY 


160        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

often  commanded  a  high  personal  regard  and  were 
admitted  into  the  houses  of  the  nobility,  the  actors 
in  the  popular  theatres  were  held  in  very  low  esteem 
and  were  ostracised  on  both  moral  and  social 
grounds.  In  the  earlier  period  of  its  development, 
the  actors  in  the  Kabuki  were  chiefly  women,  who 
played  the  male  as  well  as  the  female  characters. 
Afterwards  boys  and  even  grown-up  men  were  in- 
troduced; but  the  social  evil  resulting  was,  as  is  al- 
most sure  to  be  the  case  among  all  peoples  and  at 
all  times,  so  extreme,  that  the  Government  inter- 
vened and  the  practice  was  forbidden  by  law. 
From  that  period  onward  the  profession  of  acting 
became  confined  almost  exclusively  to  men;  al- 
though, as  time  went  on,  women  began  to  act  again, 
but  only  in  companies  formed  of  their  own  sex. 

The  so-called  Shibai  was  a  marionette  perform- 
ance, a  kind  of  dramatic  art  in  which  the  Japanese 
attained  a  high  degree  of  skill.  It  is,  indeed,  well 
worth  the  time  of  the  modern  tourist,  if  he  can  se- 
cure the  sight  of  some  of  the  best-class  of  these  pup- 
pet-shows. Even  the  inferior  ones  may  afford  the 
intelligent  foreign  observer  no  little  insight  into 
certain  characteristics  of  the  Japanese  populace. 
"  In  the  beginning,"  says  Baron  Suyematsu,  "  there 
were  no  professional  playwrights.  Plays  were 


AT    THE    THEATRE  161 

chiefly  written  by  actors  or  some  one  who  took  ap 
interest  in  the  matter;  and  further,  plays  were  even 
devised  by  the  actors  impromptu  and  not  written 
at  all.  Later  on,  the  stage  began  to  have  profes- 
sional playwrights  attached  to  each  theatre.  Un- 
like the  drama  in  Europe,  these  plays  were  never 
printed  for  public  circulation,  but  used  only  for  act- 
ing at  the  time,  and  were  often  written  more  to  suit 
the  performers  than  for  literary  excellence.  And 
again  when  an  old  play  was  acted,  it  was  often  sub- 
jected to  alteration  for  similar  purposes;  in  other 
words,  the  dramatis  persona  are  often  reduced  or 
increased  in  number,  to  suit  the  number  or  ability 
of  the  actors.  And,  therefore,  the  texts  of  the  Ka- 
buki  have  not  much  literary  merit.  Though  it  may 
look  somewhat  strange,  it  is  in  the  plays  of  the 
marionette  theatres  that  we  must  seek  the  equiva- 
lent of  the  European  drama.  The  marionette  per- 
formance originated  about  the  same  time  as  the 
Kabuki.  Previously,  there  had  been  a  particular 
kind  of  chanted  narrative,  the  Joruri,  which  name  is 
said  to  have  come  into  use  in  a  long  chanting  song 
consisting  of  twelve  sections,  and  telling  of  a  love 
story  between  Yoshitsune  and  a  maiden  named  Jo- 
rurihime.  This  was  written  by  a  lady  and  was 
entitled  *  Jorurihime.'  Subsequently,  many  works 


1 62-        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

of  similar  nature  were  written.  And  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  Samisen  (a  three-stringed  musical  in* 
strument)  gave  much  impulse  to  their  development. 
To  the  chanting  of  these  songs  the  marionette  per- 
formances were  added.  Various  styles  of  chanting 
were  also  gradually  introduced.1'  In  a  word,  the 
dramatic  performances  of  Japan  have  come  to  be 
divided  largely  according  to  the  distinction  of  classes. 
Or,  to  quote  the  distinguished  authority  of  Professor 
Tsubuchi:  "The  characteristics  of  these  forms  of 
entertainment  may  be  summed  up  by  saying  that, 
while  the  No  is  refined,  but  monotonous  and  unex- 
citing, the  Joruri  and  Kabuki  are  coarse  and  vulgar, 
but  rich  in  incident  and  passion." 

The  didactic  and  moral  elements,  which  were,  to- 
gether with  the  historical  narratives  and  incidents 
that  embodied  and  illustrated  them,  the  principal 
factors  in  the  development  of  the  Japanese  drama, 
are  derived  from  the  native  form  taken  by  the  ethi- 
cal and  political  doctrines  of  Confucianism.  The 
central  and  dominant  principle  of  these  doctrines  is 
the  virtue  of  fidelity,  or  loyalty.  So  overpowering 
has  been  the  influence  of  this  principle  upon  the 
popular  drama  in  Japan,  and  through  the  drama 
upon  the  opinions  and  practices  of  the  people  at 
large,  that  it  is  difficult  for  the  foreigner  to  under- 


AT    THE    THEATRE  163 

stand  or  to  appreciate  the  Japanese  without  some 
acquaintance  with  this  form  of  their  artistic  devel- 
opment. In  the  actual  working  out  of  this  princi- 
ple, there  have  been,  as  might  reasonably  be  ex- 
pected, some  good  as  well  as  some  evil  results. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  of  the  truthfulness  of  the 

opinion  of  my  missionary  friend,  Doctor  De  F , 

that  the  popular  theatre  exercised  a  very  powerful 
influence  on  the  preparation  of  the  nation  for  the 
Russo-Japanese  war,  by  way  of  inspiring  the  lower 
orders  of  the  people  with  that  spirit  of  unstinted 
and  unquestioning  loyalty,  which  was  one  of  the 
chief  elements  contributing  to  their  success.  It 
should  also  be  said  that,  although  the  Japanese 
stage  treats  the  relations  of  the  sexes,  both  legiti- 
mate and  illicit,  with  a  frankness  which  would 
scarcely  be  tolerated  in  the  most  "  corrupt "  of  our 
modern  cities  among  the  Western  nations,  from  the 
native  point  of  view  this  treatment  is  quite  free 
from  any  obscene  reference  or  salacious,  tendency. 
Indeed,  the  old-fashioned  Confucian  ethics  did  not 
make  the  relations  of  the  sexes  a  matter  of  much 
moral  concernment,  except  where  these  relations 
came  under  the  dominant  principle  of  loyalty.  I 
have  already  said  that  the  dramatic  art  of  No  is 
absolutely  pure  in  this  regard.  It  seems  to  me, 


164         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

therefore,  that,  on  the  whole,  the  popular  theatre 
in  Japan,  in  spite  of  much  vulgarity  and  even  ob- 
scenity, has  been  appreciably  superior  to  the  theatre 
in  Europe  and  America,  with  respect  to  its  influence 
upon  the  lowering  of  the  standard  of  sexual  purity, 
both  in  theory  and  in  practice.  The  same  praise  can- 
not, however,  be  given  to  it  in  certain  other  impor- 
tant respects.  For  the  moral  principle  of  loyalty  it- 
self has  been  so  narrowly  conceived,  and  so  intensely 
and  passionately  put  into  unreasoning  practice,  as 
to  obscure  in  thought  and  confuse  or  destroy  in 
conduct,  other  equally  important  and  sacred  vir- 
tues and  duties  of  our  mixed  human  life. 

The  development  of  the  popular  drama,  under 
the  influences  just  cited,  has  been  going  on  for  sev- 
eral centuries.  And  now,  even  the  Japanese  Ka- 
buki  theatres  are  usually  well  provided  with  stage 
scenery  and  properties  of  all  the  various  kinds  in 
use  in  our  theatres.  One  arrangement  in  which 
they  excel  our  theatres  is  the  revolving  centre  to  the 
stage, — a  contrivance  which  allows  the  stage  man- 
agement to  carry  away  an  entire  scene  at  once — • 
actors,  scenery,  and  all — and  to  replace  it  with 
something  entirely  new,  without  a  moment's  wait- 
ing. Various  modifications  derived  from  the  form 
of  the  dramas  and  the  theatres  of  Western  nations 


AT    THE    THEATRE  165 

have  also  been  introduced  into  some  of  the  dra- 
matic art  and  dramatic  performances  of  the 
New  Japan.  At  my  last  visit,  there  was 
even  a  proposal  maturing  to  build  a  large 
theatre  in  Tokyo  of  thoroughly  foreign  con- 
struction, and  presumably  for  acting  plays  com- 
posed by  Japanese  authors  largely  in  the  foreign 
style.  But  I  choose  to  abide  with  the  hope  ex- 
pressed by  Mr.  Basil  Hall  Chamberlain,  "that  the 
Japanese  stage  may  remain  what  it  now  is, — a  mir- 
ror, the  only  mirror,  of  Old  Japan."  And  it  is  be- 
cause I  have  myself  looked  into  that  mirror, 
through  eyes  that  were  friendly  and  intelligent  by 
reason  of  long  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
mental  and  moral  characteristics  and  inner  life  of 
the  people,  and  have  had  the  advantage  of  intelli- 
gent and  sympathetic,  but  unprejudiced  interpreta- 
tion by  native  friends,  on  the  spot,  that  I  venture 
with  considerable  confidence  to  add  some  narrative 
of  personal  experiences  to  illustrate  and  enforce 
what  has  been  already  said  in  a  more  general  way. 
At  some  time  in  my  several  visits,  I  Have,  I  believe, 
had  the  opportunity  to  study  every  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal existing  styles  of  Japanese  dramatic  art. 

The  first  opportunity  afforded  me  to  see  a  speci- 
men of  Japanese  dramatic  representation  was  at  the 


166         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

close  of  my  lectures  at  Doshisha,  in  the  summer  of 
1892.  The  entertainment  was  the  accompaniment 
and  the  sequel  to  a  dinner  given  to  me  by  the  Presi- 
dent, Trustees,  and  Professors  of  the  Institution, 
in  recognition  of  the  service  which  had  been  ren- 
dered to  it.  Everything  was  arranged  and  con- 
ducted in  purely  native  style.  By  taking  down  the 
paper  partitions,  the  entire  second  story  of  one  of 
the  largest  native  hotels  had  been  thrown  into  one 
apartment.  The  ladies  and  gentlemen  greeted 
each  other  by  repeated  bowing  as  they  hitched 
themselves  along  the  matted  floor,  nearer  and 
nearer  to  each  other.  The  placing  of  the  guests 
was  carefully  ordered,  with  the  principal  guest  in 
the  centre  of  one  end  of  the  hall  and  the  others,  in 
accordance  with  their  varied  claims  to  distinction, 
on  either  side  of  him  along  the  end  and  part  way 
down  the  sides  of  the  apartment.  Thus  all  were 
seated  on  the  floor,  in  the  form  of  three  sides  of  a 
hollow  square.  At  the  other  end  were  two  or  three 
screens,  behind  which  the  actors  could  retire  for  the 
necessary  changes  of  apparel  or  for  resting  between 
the  several  short  plays  which  they  performed  dur- 
ing the  evening.  There  was  no  scenery,  except  such 
as  the  descriptions  of  the  actors  led  the  audience  to 
create  in  imagination.  The  orchestra  consisted  of 


AT    THE    THEATRE  167 

two  players  upon  the  Koto  (a  sort  of  lyre  or  weak 
horizontal  harp,  which  was  evolved  from  Chinese 
models  and  perfected  in  the  first  half  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  which  is  the  most  highly  es- 
teemed of  the  Japanese  musical  instruments')  ;  and 
three  Samisens,  or  banjos, — an  instrument  now 
much  favoured  by  the  singing  girls  and  by  the  lower 
classes  generally.  The  players,  with  one  exception, 
were  girls;  and  all  but  one  of  them  were  blind. 
Acting,  costumes,  language,  music,  and  all,  were  in 
the  most  old-fashioned  style;  and,  indeed,  the  most 
learned  of  my  friends  among  the  professional  staff 
had  no  small  difficulty  in  understanding  for  them- 
selves, not  to  speak  of  interpreting  for  another, 
what  the  actors  said.  In  a  word  the  entire  enter- 
tainment was  as  nearly  a  faithful  reproduction  of  a 
similar  function  in  the  castle  of  a  Daimyo  of  three 
hundred  years  ago  as  the  surroundings  of  a  modern 
native  tea-house  made  it  possible  to  procure. 

A  word  as  to  the  characteristics  of  the  native 
music,  such  asi  I  first  heard  on  this  occasion  but  have 
frequently  heard  since,  will  assist  to  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  Japanese  dramatic  art,  in  connec- 
tion with  which  it  is  used  either  as  interlude  or  ac- 
companiment;— or  perhaps,  more  often,  as  an  es- 
sential factor.  In  its  origin,  it  is  plainly,  to  a  very 


i68         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

large  extent,  imitative  of  natural  sounds.  And  since 
the  native  scale  is  pentatonic,  and  handled  with  the 
greatest  freedom  by  the  performer,  who  feels  un- 
der no  sort  of  obligation  to  keep  strictly  to  it,  the 
whole  effect  is  wonderfully  well  adapted  for  aVak- 
ening  those  vague  and  unclassifiable  sentiments 
which  correspond  to  some  of  the  more  obvious  of 
natural  phenomena.  For  this  reason  the  more  cele- 
brated of  the  older  musical  compositions  bear 
names  descriptive  of  processes  or  events  in  nature 
which  are  adapted  to  appeal  to  the  more  common, 
if  the  weaker  and  less  sublimely  worthy,  of  the 
emotions  of  man  that  are  sympathetic  with  external 
nature.  One  of  the  compositions  played  at  this 
time  was  descriptive  of  the  four  seasons,  beginning 
with  Winter.  Subsequently,  while  being  entertained 
at  luncheon  by  Count  Matsudaira,  we  heard  played 
in  the  best  native  style,  a  piece  entitled  "  The  Flight 
of  the  Cranes,"  and  a  sort  of  musical  lament  or 
dirge  over  u  A  Pine  Tree,  Uprooted  and  Fallen  in  a 
Storm."  Still  other  instances  will  be  referred  to  in 
another  connection.  At  this  first  visit,  and  even 
after  I  had  attended  the  annual  Exhibition  of  The 
Imperial  School  of  Music,  I  was  in  despair  over  tEe 
ability  of  the  Japanese  to  learn  the  art  of  music  as 
it  has  developed  so  wonderfully  in  modern  Europe; 


AT    THE    THEATRE  169 

until  I  attended  the  services  of  the  Greek  Cathedral 
in  Tokyo,  and  listened  to  the  superb  chanting  of  the 
Japanese  men  as  they  had  been  trained  by  the  Rus- 
sian priests.  And  at  my  last  visit  I  found  how 
great  progress  the  nation  has  been  making  in  the 
art  of  music  as  a  development  all  the  more  glorious 
and  uplifting  to  the  spirit  of  man,  when  set  free 
from  its  ancient  partnership  with  the  dramatic  art. 

The  pieces  acted  on  this  occasion  were  selections 
from  the  Kyogen,  or  comediettas,  which  were  inter- 
spersed between  the  serious  pieces  of  the  No,  as  a 
foil  to  their  severity.  The  fun  of  these  plays  is  en- 
tirely free  from  any  vulgarity  or  taint  of  lascivious- 
ness;  but  it  is  so  broad  and  simple  as  often  to  seem 
childish  to  the  mind  of  the  modern  foreigner.  To 
appreciate  them  it  is  necessary  to  remember  that 
they  were  composed  for  the  common  apprehension, 
as  mild  jokes  or  satires  upon  the  foibles  of  the  dif- 
ferent classes  represented  on  the  stage  in  the  earlier 
period  of  its  development.  The  language  in  which 
they  are  delivered  is  old-fashioned  colloquial. 

To  give  a  few  examples:  In  an  interview  be- 
tween a  Daimyo  and  his  confidential  helper,  or 
steward,  the  former  is  complaining  that  he  can  get 
nothing  properly  done;  and  that,  therefore,  it  is  ab- 
solutely necessary  for  him  to  be  provided  with  a 


170         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

larger  number  of  servants.  He  suggests  about  one 
thousand  as  the  requisite  number;  but  the  steward 
succeeds  in  getting  his  master  to  reduce  the  number 
to  fifty.  The  first  applicant  for  service  is  a  so- 
called  "  musquito-devil,"  who  is  thrown  into  vio- 
lent convulsions  by  the  offer  to  employ  him  to  water 
the  garden!  On  being  questioned  as  to  what  he 
can  do,  he  responds  that  he  can  wrestle.  When  the 
steward  declines  to  wrestle  with  the  new  servant, 
and  the  master  is  not  satisfied  to  employ  him  to 
"  wrestle  alone,"  the  master  himself  undertakes  a 
match  with  the  musquito-devil;  and  he  is  easily 
worsted.  He  then  consults  apart  with  his  steward, 
who  tells  him  that  musquitoes  cannot  bear  the  wind, 
and  that  he  himself  will  stand  ready  to  assist  his 
master  with  a  fan.  At  the  next  bout,  accordingly, 
the  musquito-devil  is  sent  whirling  off  the  stage,  be- 
hind the  screens,  by  the  blasts  of  the  steward's  fan. 
Another  of  these  comediettas  represented  an  old 
woman  and  her  nephew  in  angry  conversation.  She 
is  scolding  him  for  his  idle,  spendthrift  ways;  and 
he  is  accusing  her  of  a  mean  penuriousness  in  not 
allowing  him  enough  spending  money.  As  a  result 
of  the  quarrel,  he  goes  off,  leaving  her  with  a  warn- 
ing that  an  ugly  devil  has  been  seen  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood and  that  she  may  receive  a  visit  from 


AT    THE    THEATRE  171 

him.  After  the  departure  of  the  nephew,  the  old 
woman  locks  the  house  carefully  and  retires.  There 
soon  comes  a  rap  on  the  door, — and  "  Who  is 
there?"  The  voice  of  the  nephew  replies,  asking 
to  be  let  into  the  house;  but  when  the  door  is 
opened,  a  devil  enters  with  his  features  concealed  be- 
hind a  horrible  mask.  The  old  woman  pleads  pite- 
ously  for  mercy,  but  is  finally  induced  to  surrender 
the  key  of  the  store-room  where  the  sake  is  kept. 
She  then  draws  aside  to  bury  her  face  in  her  hands 
and  to  pray, — being  assured  that  if  she  once  looks 
up,  she  will  be  struck  dead  with  the  look.  Where- 
upon the  scamp  of  a  nephew  proceeds  to  get  drunk; 
and  being  discovered  and  recognised  in  this  help- 
less condition,  he  receives  from  his  outraged  aunt 
the  beating  which  he  so  richly  deserves. 

Still  another  of  these  childish  comedies  repre- 
sented two  rival  quacks,  who  were  boasting  the  mer- 
its of  their  sticking-plaster.  One  of  these  plasters 
would  draw  iron,  and  the  other  would  draw  horses. 
Then  followed  various  contests  between  the  two 
rivals,  with  "straight  pull,"  "sideways  pull,"  "screw 
pull,"  -etc. 

My  next  experience  with  the  Japanese  theatre 
was  of  a  quite  different  order,  but  equally  interest- 
ing and  equally  instructive.  It  was  gained  by  at- 


i72        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

tending  an  all-day  performance  in  one  of  the  Ka- 
buki  theatres  in  Tokyo,  where  a  play  designed  to 
celebrate  the  old-fashioned  Samurai  virtue  of  fidel- 
ity was  having  a  great  run,  in  spite  of  the  extreme 
heat  of  a  hot  July.  The  audiences  were  composed 
of  the  middle  and  lower  artisan,  and  other  socially 
similar  classes.  It  was  not  to  be  expected,  therefore, 
that  the  version  of  Bushido  which  appealed  to  them, 
and  which  won  their  enthusiastic  applause,  would  cor- 
respond throughout  to  the  admirable  description  of 
this  "  spirit  of  the  knight "  as  given  in  the  book  of 
Professor  Nitobe  on  this  subject.  And,  in  fact, 
the  play  gave  a  representation  of  this  most  highly 
prized  of  the  Japanese  virtues  corresponding,  in  its 
substantial  delineation  and  literary  style,  to  that 
which  would  be  given  of  the  most  distinctive  virtues 
of  our  so-called  Christian  civilisation,  on  the  stage 
of  any  one  of  the  theatres  of  the  "  Bowery  "  in 
New  York  City. 

The  theatre  was  a  large  barn-like  structure;  and 
it  was  filled  with  an  audience  who  sat  in  its  boxes, 
or  small,  square  divisions  marked  off  by  narrow 
boards,  where  they  arranged  themselves  for  the 
most  part  as  they  were  assorted!  by  domestic  or 
friendly  ties.  Although  they  obviously  kept  fully 
aware  of  what  was  going  on  upon  the  stage,  and 


AT    THE    THEATRE  173 

at  times  seemed  to  look  and  to  listen  intently,  or  to 
break  forth  into  irrepressible  applause,  the  most  ex- 
citing scenes  did  not  appear  greatly  to  interrupt 
their  incessant  smoking  and  indulgence  in  various 
kinds  of  cheap  drinks  and  eatables.  Incessant  tea- 
drinking  went  on  as  a  matter  of  course. 

The  principal  play  on  this  occasion  celebrated  the 
daring  and  unflinching  loyalty  of  a  confidential 
servant  to  his  "Samurai  master.  The  purposes  of 
the  master  were  by  no  means  wholly  hpnourable  as 
judged  by  our  Western  standards  of  morals;  and 
the  means  contrived  by  the  servant  for  carrying  out 
these  purposes  were  distinctly  less  so.  Especially 
was  this  true  of  the  heartless  and  base  way  in  which 
the  servant,  in  furtherance  of  his  master's  interests, 
treated  the  daughter  of  his  master's  enemy,  who 
had  trusted  him  with  her  love  and  her  honour.  I 
am  sure  that  for  this  sort  of  behaviour  the  rascal 
would  have  been  hissed  off  the  stage  of  even  the 
lowest  of  the  Bowery  theatres.  But  when  he  was 
detected  and  caught  by  the  father  of  the  girl,  the 
servant  who  was  so  despicably  base  toward  others, 
remained  still  so  splendidly  loyal  to  his  master,  that 
the  climax  of  the  entire  drama  was  reached  and  suc- 
cessfully passed  in  a  way  to  astonish  and  disgust  the 
average  audience  in  Western  and  Christian  lands. 


i74        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

For  he  cheerfully  bares  his  neck  and,  kneeling, 
stretches  it  out  to  catch  fully  the  blow  of  the  fath- 
er's sword, — protesting  that  he  esteems  it  an  honour 
and  a  joy  to  die  in  this  honourable  manner  for  his 
lord  and  master.  So  impressed,  however,  is  the 
would-be  executioner  with  the  rascal's  splendid  exhi- 
bition of  the  noblest  of  all  the  virtues,  that  he 
raises  the  betrayer  of  his  daughter  from  his  knees, 
pardons  him,  praises  him  unstintedly  for  his  hon- 
ourable excellence,  makes  peace  with  the  servant's 
master,  and  gladly  bestows  upon  the  servant  his 
own  beloved  daughter  in  honourable  marriage. 

As  I  have  already  said,  it  was  undoubtedly  the 
influence  of  such  dramas  which  helped  to  keep  alive 
the  extreme  and  distorted  views  of  the  supreme  ex- 
cellence of  loyalty  as  a  virtue,  in  the  narrower  sig- 
nificance of  the  terms,  that  went  far  toward  secur- 
ing the  remarkable  character  for  self-sacrificing 
courage  and  endurance  of  the  Japanese  private  sol- 
dier during  the  late  war  with  Russia.  It  would  not 
be  fair,  however,  to  infer  from  this,  or  other  simi- 
lar experiences,  the  inferiority  of  the  Japanese  as  a 
race  in  either  ethical  maxims  or  moral  practice. 
For,  has  not  an  extravagant  and  perverted  concep- 
tion of  the  Christian  virtue  of  "  love  "  served  in 
Occidental  lands  to  obscure  and  overshadow  the 


AT    THE    THEATRE  175 

even  more  fundamental  virtues  of  courage,  endur- 
ance, and  a  certain  necessary  and  divine  sternness 
of  justice?  And,  with  all  its  restrictions  and  defi- 
ciencies, the  Japanese  Bushido  has  hitherto  resisted 
the  temptations  to  avarice  and  a  selfish  indulgence 
in  luxury,  on  the  whole,  rather  better  than  anything 
which  these  Western  nations  have  been  able  to 
make  effective  in  its  stead.  But  when  Japan  gets 
as  far  away  from  the  Knightly  spirit  of  Feudalism 
as  we  have  for  a  long  time  been,  its  moral  doctrines 
and  practices  of  the  older  period  are  likely  to  un- 
dergo changes  equally  notable  with  those  which 
have  taken  place  in  Europe  since  feudal  times  pre- 
vailed there. 

It  was  not  until  my  second  visit,  in  1899,  that  I 
enjoyed  the  opportunity  of  seeing  Japan's  then 
most  celebrated  actor,  Ichikawa  Danjuro.  "  Dan- 
juro  "  is  the  name  of  a  family  that  has  been  emi- 
nent in  the  line  of  histrionic  ability  for  nine  or  ten 
generations.  Ichikawa,  of  that  name,  was  espe- 
cially remarkable  for  combining  the  several  kinds 
of  excellence  demanded  of  the  actor  by  Japanese 
dramatic  art.  He  had  very  uncommon  histrionic 
power;  even  down  to  his  old  age  he  was  able  almost 
equally  well  to  take  all  kinds  of  parts,  including 
those  of  women  and  boys;  and  he  had  "marvellous 


176        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

agility  as  a  dancer."  As  respects  his  ideals  and 
characteristic  style — making  due  allowance  for  the 
wide  differences  in  language  and  in  the  traditions  and 
requirements  of  the  stage  in  the  two  countries — 
Danjuro  has  been  called  "  The  Irving  of  Japan," 
not  altogether  unaptly. 

On  this  occasion  I  had  not  my  usual  good  fortune 
of  being  in  the  company  of  an  intelligent  and  ready 
interpreter,  who  could  follow  faithfully  and  sym- 
pathetically, but  critically,  every  detail  of  the  scen- 
ery and  the  wording  of  the  plays,  as  well  as  of  the 
performance  of  the  actors.  But  the  two  of  the 
three  plays  in  which  Danjuro  took  part,  between 
the  rising  of  the  curtain  at  eleven  o'clock  and  our 
departure  from  the  theatre  at  about  four  in  the 
afternoon,  were  quite  sufficient  to  impress  me  with 
the  high  quality  of  his  acting.  I  need  scarcely  say 
that  he  gave  me  that  impression  of  reserve  power 
and  of  naturalness  which  only  the  greatest  of  ar- 
tists can  make.  But,  indeed,  reserve,  and  the  sug- 
gestiveness  which  goes  with  it  and  is  so  greatly  in- 
tensified by  it,  is  a  chief  characteristic  of  all  the  best 
works  of  every  kind  of  Oriental  art. 

It  was  a  still  different  exhibition  of  Japanese  his- 
trionic skill  which  I  witnessed  on  the  afternoon  and 
evening  of  October  15,  1906.  In  the  most  fashion- 


AT    THE    THEATRE  177 

able  theatre  of  Tokyo  a  Japanese  paraphrase  of 
Sardou's  "  La  Patrie  "  was  being  given  by  native 
actors.  It  was  in  every  way  a  most  ambitious  and 
even  daring  attempt  to  adopt  outright  rather  than 
to  adapt,  foreign  dramatic  models,  in  all  their 
elaborate  details.  How  far  would  it  be — indeed, 
how  far  could  it  be — successful?  I  could  see  and 
judge  for  myself;  since  I  was  to  have  the  best  of 
interpreters.  The  advertised  'time  for  the  rising 
of  the  curtain  was  five  o'clock;  but  the  actual  time 
was  a  full  half-hour  later.  The  entire  performance 
lasted  for  somewhat  more  than  five  hours.  The 
scenery  and  stage  settings  were  excellent.  The 
scene  of  the  meeting  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  and 
the  Count  of  Flanders  in  the  woods  by  moonlight 
was  as  artistically  charming  and  beautiful  a  picture 
as  could  be  set  upon  the  stage  anywhere  in  the 
world.  Much  of  the  acting,  considering  the  diffi- 
culty of  translating  the  motifs  and  the  language,  was 
fairly  creditable;  but  the  Japanese  have  yet  a  great 
deal  to  learn  before  they  can  acquire  the  best  West- 
ern and  modern  style  of  the  dramatic  art.  Indeed, 
why  should  they  try?  The  stilted  stage-manners 
of  their  own  actors  in  the  past,  and  the  extravagance 
of  posturing  and  gesturing  for  the  expression  of 
strong  emotions,  still  hamper  them  greatly  in  this 


178         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

effort.  Why  then  should  they  spend  time  and 
money  on  the  attempt  at  this  reproduction  of  for- 
eign models,  rather  than  in  the  reproduction  and  de- 
velopment of  the  best  of  their  own  dramatic  art? 
Certainly,  artistic  success  in  such  an  endeavour,  even 
if  it  could  easily  be  attained.,  could  not  have  the 
same  influence  upon  the  conservation  of  the  national 
virtues  which  have  distinguished  their  past  that 
might  reasonably  be  hoped  for  by  a  more  strictly 
conservative  course.  As  a  piece  of  acting  the  at- 
tempt to  reproduce  the  French  play  was  a  failure. 
The  performance  of  the  drama  was  followed  by  a 
very  clever  farce  called  "  The  Modern  Othello," 
which  was  written  by  a  business  man  of  Tokyo,  a 
friend  of  our  host  on  this  occasion. 

For  witnessing  (the  latest  developments  of  the 
highest-class  dramatic  art  of  Japan,  it  was  a  rare 
opportunity  which  was  afforded  by  a  series  of  per- 
formances lasting  through  an  entire  fortnight  in 
November  of  1906.  The  occasion  was  a  "Memo- 
rial," or  "  Actor's  Benefit,"  commemorative  of  the 
life-work  of  Kan-ya  Morita,  who,  in  a  manner  simi- 
lar to  the  late  John  Augustin  Daly,  had  devoted 
himself  to  the  improvement  and  elevation  of  the 
theatre.  All  the  best  actors  in  Tokyo,  including  the 
two  sons  of  Morita,  took  part  in  these  perform- 


AT    THE    THEATRE  179 

ances,  which  consisted  of  selected  portions  of  the 
very  best  style  of  the  dramas  of  Old  Japan.  I  can- 
not, therefore,  give  a  more  graphic  picture  of  what 
this  art  actually  is,  and  what  it  effects  by  way  of  in- 
fluence upon  the  audience,  than  to  recite  with  some 
detail  our  experiences  as  members  of  a  theatre  party 
for  one  of  these  all-day  performances. 

A  former  pupil  of  mine  and  his  wife    were   the 
hosts,  and  the  other  guests,  besides  my  wife  and 

myself,   were    Minister   and   Madam   U ,    and 

Professor  and  Mrs.    U .     Since    we   were    the 

only  foreigners  among  the  members  of  the  party, 
our  hostess  came  to  conduct  us  to  the  tea-house, 
through  which,  according  to  the  established  custom, 
all  the  arrangements  for  tickets,  reserved  seats, 
cushions,  hibachis,  refreshments,  and  attendance, 
had  been  made.  There  we  met  the  husband,  who 
had  come  from  his  place  of  business;  and  after  hav- 
ing tea  together,  we  left  our  wraps  and  shoes  at  the 
tea-house,  and,  being  provided  with  sandals,  we  shuf- 
fled in  them  across  the  street  into  the  theatre.  Four 
of  the  best  boxes  in  the  gallery,  from  which  a  better 
view  of  the  stage  can  be  obtained  than  from  the 
floor,  had  been  thrown  into  one  by  removing  the 
partitions  of  boards;  and  every  possible  provision 
had  been  made  for  the  comfort  of  the  foreigners, 


i8o        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

who  find  it  much  more  difficult  than  do  those  to  the 
manner  born  to  sit  all  day  upon  the  floor  with  their 
legs  curled  up  beneath  them.  The  native  audience 
— and  only  a  very  few  foreigners  were  present- 
was  obviously  of  the  highest  class,  and  was  in  gen- 
eral thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  myths,  tradi- 
tions, and  histories,  which  were  to  be  given  dramatic 
representation.  As  the  event  abundantly  showed, 
they  were  prepared  to  respond  freely  with  the  ap- 
propriate expressions  of  sentiment.  It  is  an  inter- 
esting fact  that  Japanese  gentlemen  and  ladies, 
whom  no  amount  of  personal  grief  or  loss  could 
move  to  tears  or  other  expressions  of  suffering  in 
public,  are  not  ashamed  to  be  seen  at  the  theatre 
weeping  copiously  over  the  misfortunes  and  sor- 
rows of  the  mythical  divinities,  or  the  heroes  of 
their  own  nation's  past  history. 

The  curtain  rose  at  about  eleven  o'clock;  and  the 
first  play  was  a  scene  from  an  old  Chinese  novel,  and 
bore  the  name  "  zakwan-ji."  It  represented  three 
strong  men  who,  meeting  in  the  night,  begin  to  fight 
with  one  another.  Snow  falls,  while  the  battle 
grows  more  fierce.  Two  of  the  men  are  defeated; 
and  the  victor,  in  his  arrogance,  then  attacks  the 
door  of  a  shrine  near  by.  But  the  spirit  of  the  en- 
shrined hero  appears  and  engages  the  victor  of  the 


AT    THE    THEATRE  181 

other  men  in  combat.  Of  course,  the  mere  mortal 
is  easily  overcome  by  his  supernatural  foe;  but  when 
he  yields,  all  parties  speedily  become  friends.  The 
acting  was  very  spirited  and  impressionistic;  but  no 
words  were  spoken  by  the  actors.  The  story  was, 
however,  sung  by  a  "  chorus  "  consisting  of  a  single 
very  fat  man,  who  sat  in  a  box  above  the  stage; 
but  the  language  was  so  archaic  that  even  our 
learned  friend,  the  professor,  could  not  understand 
much  of  it. 

The  second  play  was  a  version  of  the  celebrated 
story  of  the  Giant  Benkei  and  the  warrior  Yoshit- 
sune.  It  differed  materially  from  the  version  given 
by  Captain  Brinkley  iri  his  admirable  work  on 
Japan.  In  this  scene,  when  Yoshitsune  and  B'enkei 
have  arrived  at  the  "  barrier,"  disguised  as  travel- 
ling priests,  and  are  discussing  the  best  means  of  pro- 
cedure, three  country  children  appear  with  baskets 
and  rakes  to  gather  pine  leaves.  On  seeing  the 
priests,  the  children  warn  them  that  yesterday  and 
the  day  before  two  parties  of  priests  have  been  killed 
by  the  soldiers  at  the  barrier,  on  suspicion  of  their 
being  Yoshitsune  and  his  followers  in  disguise. 
Benkei  then  comes  forward  and  asks  of  the  boys 
the  road  the  travellers  ought  to  take.  In  very 
graceful  dances  and  songs  the  children  give  a  poet- 


182         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

ical  description  of  this  road.  Benkei  then  takes  an 
affectionate  leave  of  his  master,  and  goes  up  to 
the  gate  to  ask  for  passports  of  its  guardian.  It 
is  agreed  that  the  signal  for  danger  shall  be  one 
sound  of  Benkei's  horn;  but  that  if  the  horn  is 
sounded  three  times,  it  shall  mean  "  good  news." 
Soon  the  horn  is  sounded  once,  and  Yoshitsune 
rushes  to  the  rescue  of  his  faithful  attendant.  At 
this  point  the  stage  revolves,  and  the  next  scene 
presents  the  guardian  of  the  gate  seated  in  his  house, 
while  in  the  foreground  B-enkei  is  being  tortured 
to  make  him  confess.  Yoshitsune  attempts  to 
rescue  Benkei,  but  the  latter  prevents  his  master 
from  disclosing  his  identity.  The  guardian,  how- 
ever, suspects  the  truth;  but  since  he  is  secretly  in 
favour  of  Yoshitsune,  he  releases  Benkei,  and  after 
some  hesitation  grants  the  coveted  passports  and 
sends  the  whole  party  on  their  way. 

The  third  play,  like  the  first,  was  also  Chinese; 
it  was,  however,  much  more  elaborate.  A  Tartar 
General,  while  in  Japan,  has  married  a  beautiful 
Japanese  girl,  and  has  taken  her  back  with  him  to 
live  in  China.  After  a  great  battle  the  General 
returns  to  his  home,  and  an  old  woman  among  the 
captives  is  introduced  upon  the  stage  to  plead  for 
the  release  of  her  son,  a  Captain  in  the  Japanese 


AT    THE    THEATRE  183 

army,  who  had  also  been  taken  captive.  The  old 
woman  proves  to  be  the  step-mother  of  the  young 
wife  and  the  Japanese  Captain  is  her  brother. 
When  the  wife  recognises  her  mother,  she  is  much 
overcome,  and  joins  in  pleading  for  the  life  of  both 
the  captives.  The  husband  becomes  very  angry  and 
threatens  to  kill  both  mother  and  daughter;  but  the 
mother,  although  her  arms  are  bound,  throws  herself 
before  him  and  saves  her  daughter.  The  daughter 
then  goes  to  her  room,  and  according  to  a  pre- 
arranged signal  with  her  brother,  opens  a  vein  and 
pours  the  blood  into  a  small  stream  that  runs  below. 
The  brother,  who  is  in  waiting  on  a  bridge  over 
the  stream,  sees  the  signal  and  hurries  to  the  rescue 
of  his  sister.  He  reaches  the  palace  and  compels 
the  men  on  guard  to  carry  his  sword  within;  it 
requires  eight  men  to  accomplish  this  stupendous 
task,  so  exceedingly  strong  is  the  swordsman !  He 
overcomes  the  Tartar  General  and  gets  himself 
crowned  Emperor;  but  he  comes  out  of  the  palace 
in  time  to  see  his  sister  die  of  her  self-inflicted 
wound.  The  aged  mother,  thinking  it  would  be 
dishonourable  to  allow  her  step-daughter  to  make 
the  only  great  sacrifice,  stabs  herself  and  dies  to 
the  sound  of  doleful  music  long  drawn-out. 

During  the  intermission  which  followed  this  im- 


i84        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

pressive  but  crudely  conceived  and  childish  tragedy, 
we  enjoyed  an  excellent  Japanese  luncheon  in  the 
tea-house  near  by. 

When  the  curtain  rose  for  the  next  performance, 
it  disclosed  a  row  of  ten  or  twelve  actors  clothed 
in  sombre  Japanese  dress,  all  on  their  knees,  who 
proceeded  to  deliver  short  speeches  eulogistic  of  the 
deceased  actor  in  whose  memory  this  series  of  plays 
was  being  performed.  The  next  play  represented 
Tametomo,  one  of  the  twenty-three  sons  of  a  famous 
Minamoto  warrior,  who  with  his  concubine,  three 
sons,  his  confidential  servant,  and  some  other 
followers,  had  been  banished  to  an  island  off  the 
coast  of  Japan.  The  astrologers  had  prophesied 
that  he  and  his  oldest  son  would  die;  but  that  his 
second  son  would  become  the  head  of  a  large  and 
powerful  family.  Not  wishing  his  future  heir 
to  grow  up  on  the  barren  island,  he  manages  to  get 
a  letter  to  a  powerful  friend  on  the  mainland,  who 
promises  that  if  the  boy  is  sent  to  him,  he  will 
treat  him  as  his  own  son  and  educate  him  for  the 
important  position  which  he  is  destined  to  fill  in 
the  world.  But  the  father  does  not  wish  to  dis- 
close his  plan  to  the  rest  of  the  family.  He  there- 
fore bids  the  two  older  boys  make  a  very  large 
and  strong  kite ;  and  when  it  is  finished  and  brought 


AT    THE    THEATRE  185 

with  great  pride  to  show  to  the  father,  he  praises 
the  workmanship  of  both,  but  calls  the  younger  of 
the  two  into  the  house  and  presents  him  with  a  flute. 
The  child  is  much  pleased  with  the  gift  and  at  once 
runs  away  to  show  it  to  his  brother,  but  stumbles 
and  falls  at  the  foot  of  the  steps  and  breaks  the 
flute.  This  is  considered  a  very  ill  omen,  and  Ta- 
metomo  pretends  to  be  very  angry  and  threatens  to 
kill  his  son.  The  mother,  the  old  servant,  and  the 
other  children  plead  for  the  life  of  the  boy;  and 
at  last  the  father  says  that  he  will  spare  his  son, 
but  since  he  can  no  longer  remain  with  the  rest  of 
the  family,  he  will  bind  him  to  the  kite  and  send 
him  to  the  mainland.  A  handkerchief  is  then  tied 
over  the  boy's  mouth  and  he  is  bound  to  the  huge 
kite  and  carried  by  several  men  to  the  seashore. 
Then  follows  a  highly  emotional  scene,  in  which 
the  mother  and  brothers  bewail  the  fate  of  the  boy 
and  rebuke  the  hard-hearted  father.  The  wind  is 
strong,  and  all  watch  the  kite  eagerly;  while  the 
father  reveals  his  true  motive  for  sending  away  his 
son,  and  the  youngest  of  the  brothers,  a  babe  of 
four  years  old,  engages  in  prayer  to  the  gods  for 
the  saving  of  his  brother.  The  servant  announces 
that  the  kite  has  reached  the  shore;  and  soon  the 
signal  fire  is  seen  to  tell  that  the  boy  is  safe.  Ta- 


186         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

metomo  then  assures  his  wife  that  the  lives  of 
the  family  are  in  danger  from  the  enemy,  whose 
boats  are  seen  approaching  the  island.  At 
this  the  wife  bids  farewell  to  her  husband  and 
takes  the  two  children  away  to  kill  them,  with  her- 
self, before  they  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
Tametomo  shoots  an  arrow  at  one  of  the  boats, 
which  kills  its  man;  but  the  others  press  forward, 
and  just  as  they  are  about  to  disembark  on  the 
island  the  curtain  falls. 

On  this  lengthy  and  diversified  programme  there 
follows  next  a  selection  of  some  of  the  most  cele- 
brated of  dramatic  dances.  The  first  of  these  was 
"  The  Red  and  White  Lion  Dance."  Two  dancers 
with  lion  masks  and  huge  red  and  white  manes  trail- 
ing behind  them  on  the  floor,  went  through  a  wild 
dance  to  represent  the  fury  of  these  beasts.  The 
platforms  on  which  they  rested  were  decorated  with 
red  and  white  tree-peonies;  for  lions  and  peonies 
are  always  associated  ideas  in  the  minds  of  the 
Japanese.  Another  graceful  dance  followed,  in 
which  the  dancers,  instead  of  wearing  large  masks, 
carried  small  lion  heads  with  trailing  hair,  over  the 
right  hand.  The  masks  of  these  dancers  had  small 
bells,  which,  as  they  danced,  tinkled  and  blended 
their  sound  with  the  music  of  the  chorus.  Then 


AT    THE    THEATRE  187 

came  a  comic  dance,  in  which  two  priests  of  rival 
sects  exhibited  their  skill, — one  of  them  beating  a 
small  drum,  while  his  rival  emphasised  his  chant 
by  striking  a  metal  gong. 

The  seventh  number  on  the  programme  was  very 
tragic,  and  drew  tears  and  sobbing  from  the  larger 
part  of  the  audience,  so  intensely  inspired  was  it 
with  the  "  Bushido,"  and  so  pathetically  did  it  set 
forth  this  spirit.  Tokishime,  a  daughter  of  the 
Hojo  Shogun,  is  betrothed  to  Miura-no-Suke.  The 
young  woman  goes  to  stay  with  the  aged  mother 
of  her  lover,  while  he  is  away  in  battle.  The 
mother  is  very  ill,  and  the  son,  after  being  wounded, 
returns  home  to  see  his  mother  once  more  before 
she  dies.  The  mother  from  her  room  hears  her 
son's  return  and  denounces  his  disloyal  act  in  leav- 
ing the  field  of  battle  even,  to  bid  her  farewell;  she 
also  sternly  forbids  him  to  enter  her  room  to  speak 
to  her.  The  young  man,  much  overcome,  turns  to 
leave,  when  his  fiancee  discovers  that  his  helmet  is 
filled  with  precious  incense,  in  preparation  for  death. 
She  implores  him  to  return  to  his  home  for  the 
night  only,  pleading  that  so  short  a  time  can  make  no 
difference.  When  they  reach  the  house,  a  messen- 
ger from  her  father  in  Kamakura  presents  her  with 
a  short  sword  and  with  her  father's  orders  to  use 


1 88'        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

it  in  killing  her  lover's  mother,  who  is  the  suspected 
cause  of  the  son's  treachery.  Then  ensues  one  of 
those  struggles  which,  among  all  morally  developed 
peoples,  and  in  all  eras  of  the  world's  history,  fur- 
nish the  essentials  of  the  highest  forms  of  human 
tragedy.  Such  was  the  moral  conflict  which  Soph- 
ocles set  forth  in  so  moving  form  in  his  immortal 
tragedy  of  "  Antigone."  The  poor  girl  suffers  all  the 
tortures  of  a  fierce  contention  between  loyalty  and 
the  duty  of  obedience  to  her  father  and  her  love  for 
her  betrothed  husband;  who,  when  he  learns  of  the 
message,  demands  in  turn  that  the  girl  go  and  kill  her 
own  father.  The  daughter,  knowing  her  father  to 
be  a  tyrant  and  the  enemy  of  his  country,  at  last  de- 
cides in  favour  of  her  lover,  and  resolves  to  go  to 
Kamakura  and  commit  the  awful  crime  of  fratri- 
cide. After  which  she  will  expiate  it  by  suicide. 
The  closing  performance  of  the  entire  day  was 
a  spectacle  rather  than  a  play.  It  represented  the 
ancient  myth  of  the  Sun-goddess,  who  became  angry 
and  shut  herself  up  in  a  cave,  leaving  the  whole 
world  in  darkness  and  in  sorrow.  All  the  lesser 
gods  and  their  priests  assembled  before  the  closed 
mouth  of  the  cave  and  sang  enticing  songs  and 
danced,  in  the  hope  of  inducing  the  enraged  goddess 
to  come  forth.  But  all  their  efforts  were  in  vain. 


AT    THE    THEATRE  189 

At  last,  by  means  of  the  magic  mirror  and  a  most 
extraordinarily  beautiful  dance,  as  the  cock  crows, 
the  cave  is  opened  by  the  power  of  the  strong  god, 
Tajikara-o-no-miko-to;  and  the  goddess  once  more 
sheds  her  light  upon  the  world. 

At  the  close  of  this  entire  day  of  rarely  instructive 
entertainment  it  remained  only  to  pick  at  a  delicious 
supper  of  fried  eels  and  rice  before  retiring, — well 
spent  indeed,  but  the  better  informed  as  to  the 
national  spirit  which  framed  the  dramatic  art  of  the 
Old  Japan.  It  is  in  the  hope  that  the  reader's  im- 
pressions may  in  some  respect  resemble  my  own  that 
I  have  described  with  so  much  detail  this  experience 
at  a  Japanese  theatre  of  the  highest  class. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE   NO,    OR   JAPANESE   MIRACLE-PLAY 

THE  comparison  of  the  Japanese  dramatic  perform- 
ance which  bears  the  name  of  "  No "  to  the 
miracle-plays  of  Mediaeval  Europe  is  by  no  means 
appropriate  throughout.  Both,  indeed,  dealt  in  the 
manner  of  a  childish  faith,  and  with  complete  free- 
dom, in  affairs  belonging  to  the  realm  of  the  in- 
visible, the  supernatural,  the  miraculous;  and  both 
availed  themselves  of  dramatic  devices  for  impress- 
ing religious  truths  and  religious  superstitions  upon 
the  minds  of  the  audience.  Both  also  undertook 
to  relieve  a  protracted  seriousness,  which  might 
easily  become  oppressive,  by  introducing  into  these 
performances  a  saving  element  of  the  comic.  But 
in  some  of  its  prominent  external  features,  the  Jap- 
anese drama  resembled  that  of  ancient  Greece  more 
closely  than  the  plays  of  Mediaeval  Europe;  while 
its  literary  merit,  and  the  histrionic  skill  displayed 
upon  its  stage,  were  on  the  whole  greatly  superior 
to  the  Occidental  product.  In  the  "No,"  too,  the 
comic  element  was  kept  separate  from  the  religious, 
and  thus  was  never  allowed  to  disturb  or  degrade 

190 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY    191 

the  ethical  impressions  and  teachings  of  the  main 
dramatic  performances. 

In  the  just  previous  chapter  the  account  of  the 
probable  origin  of  this  form  of  dramatic  art  in 
Japan  has  been  briefly  given:  and  a 'few  words  as 
to  its  later  developments  will  serve  to  make  the 
following  description  of  some  of  the  performances 
which  I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  witness,  in 
the  company  of  the  best  of  interpreters,  more  inter- 
esting and  more  intelligible.  It  has  already  been 
pointed  out  that  the  No  was  at  first  performed  by 
Shinto  priests  in  the  shrines,  and  so  the  acting,  or 
"  dancing,"  and  the  music  are  of  a  religious  or  cere- 
monial origin  and  style.  But  the  texts  of  the  drama 
called  by  this  name  came  from  the  hands  of  the 
Buddhist  priests,  who  were  the  sources  of  nearly  all 
the  literature  of  the  earlier  periods. 

The  popularity  which  these  ceremonial  entertain- 
ments attained  at  the  court  of  the  Tokugawa  Shoguns 
received  a  heavy  blow  at  the  time  of  the  Restoration. 
With  all  their  many  faults,  the  Tokugawas  were  ac- 
tive and  influential  patrons  of  art  and  of  the  Buddhist 
religion.  After  their  overthrow,  important  mate- 
rial and  military  interests  were  so  absorbing,  and 
the  zeal  for  making  all  things  new  was  so  excessive, 
that  there  was  no  small  danger  of  every  distinctive 


192         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

form  of  native  art  suffering  a  quick  and  final  ex- 
tinction instead  of  an  intelligent  and  sympathetic 
development.  Besides,  the  philosophical  and  reli- 
gious ideas  of  Buddhism,  as  well  as  of  every  form 
of  belief  in  the  reality  and  value  of  the  invisible 
and  spiritual,  were  at  the  time  in  a  deplorable  con- 
dition of  neglect  or  open  contempt.  About  the  fif- 
teenth year  of  the  Era  of  Meiji,  however,  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  revive  these  religious  dramatic 
performances.  And  since  this  movement  has  been 
more  and  more  patronised  by  the  nobility,  includ- 
ing even  some  of  the  Imperial  family,  and  by  the  in- 
tellectual classes,  the  equipment,  the  acting,  and  the 
intelligent  appreciation  of  the  audiences,  have  so 
improved,  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  "  No," 
during  its  entire  historical  development,  has  ever 
been  so  well  performed  as  it  is  at  the  present  time. 
According  to  a  pamphlet  prepared  by  a  native  ex- 
pert, it  is  the  supreme  regard  given  by  the  suggestion 
of  spiritual  ideals  to  a  trained  and  sympathetic  imag- 
ination, which  furnishes  its  controlling  artistic  prin- 
ciples to  this  form  of  the  Japanese  drama. 

"The  No  performance,"  says  the  authority 
whom  I  am  quoting,  "  is  a  very  simple  kind  of 
dance,  whose  chief  feature  is  its  exclusive  connec- 
tion with  ideal  beauty,  wholly  regardless  of  any 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY    193 

decorations  on  the  stage.  The  old  pine-tree  we  see 
painted  on  the  back  wall  of  the  stage  is  only 
meant  to  suggest  to  us  the  time  when  performances 
were  given  on  a  grass  plot  under  a  pine-tree. 
Sometimes  such  rudely  made  things  are  placed  on 
the  stage,  but  they  may  be  said  to  represent  almost 
anything,  as  a  mound,  a  mountain,  a  house,  etc.; 
their  chief  aim  is  accomplished  if  they  can  be  of 
any  service  in  calling  up  even  faintly  the  original 
to  the  imagination  of  the  audience.  The  move- 
ments of  the  performer,  in  most  cases,  are  likewise 
simple  and  entirely  dependent  upon  the  flourishes 
of  a  folding  fan  in  his  hand,  for  the  expression  of 
their  natural  beauty.  Aiiy  emotion  of  the  part 
played  is  not  studiously  expressed  by  external  mo- 
tions and  appearances,  but  carelessly  left  to  the 
susceptibility  of  the  audience.  In  short,  the  No 
performance  has  to  do,  first  of  all,  with  the  inter- 
est of  a  scene,  and  then  with  human  passion." 

The  last  sentences  in  this  quoted  description  are 
liable  to  serious  misunderstanding;  for  what  the 
author  really  means  is  unfortunately  .expressed 
through  lack  of  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  value 
of  English  words.  That  anything  about  this  style 
of  dramatic  performance  is  "  carelessly  left "  to  the 
audience,  is  distinctly  contrary  to  the  impression 


194         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

made  upon  the  foreign  critical  observer  of  the  Jap- 
anese No.  The  truth  which  the  writer  probably 
intended  to  express  is  the  truth  of  fact;  both  the 
ideas  and  the  emotions  which  are  designed  for  dra- 
matic representation  are  suggested  rather  than  de- 
claimed or  proclaimed  by  natural  gestures ;  and  this 
is,  for  the  most  part,  so  subtly  done  and  so  care- 
fully adapted  to  conventional  rules,  that  only  the 
most  highly  instructed  of  the  audience  can  know 
surely  and  perfectly  what  ideas  and  emotions  it  is 
intended  to  express. 

The  regular  complement  of  performers  in  the 
Japanese  No  is  three  in  number :  these  are  a  principal 
(Shite),  and  his  assistant   (Waki);    and   a    third, 
who  may  be  attached  to,  and  act  under,  either  of 
the  other  two  (a  so-called  Tsure).     In  one  corner 
of  the  stage  sits  the  chorus  (Jiutai),  whose  duties 
and  privileges  are  singularly  like  those  of  the  cho- 
rus in  the  ancient  Greek  drama.     They    sing,    or 
chant,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  drama,  some- 
times taking  their  theme  from  the  scene  and  some- 
times from  the  action  of  the  play.  Sometimes,  also, 
they  give  voice  to  the  unuttered  thoughts  or  fears, 
or  premonitions  of  the  performer  on  the  stage;  and 
sometimes  they  even  interpret  more  fully  the  ideas 
and  intentions  of  the  writer  of  the  drama.     They 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY     195 

may  give  advice  or  warning,  may  express  sympathy 
and  bewail  the  woes  or  follies  of  some  one  of  the 
actors;  or  they  may  point  a  moral  motif  or  impress 
a  religious  truth.  At  the  rear-centre  of  the  stage 
sits  the  orchestra,  which  is  regularly  composed  of 
four  instruments, — a  sort  of  snare-drum  at  one  end 
and  a  flute  at  the  other;  while  in  between,  seated  on 
low  stools,  are  two  players  on  drums  of  different 
sizes,  but  both  shaped  like  an  hour-glass.  As  to  the 
function  of  this  rather  slender,  and  for  the  most 
part  lugubrious  orchestra,  let  me  quote  again  from 
the  same  expert  native  authority.  u  Though 
closely  related  to  one  another  and  so  all  learned  by 
every  one  of  the  players,  the  four  instruments  are 
specially  played  by  four  respective  specialists,  each 
of  whom  strictly  adheres  to  his  own  assigned  duty, 
and  is  not  allowed  in  the  least  to  interfere  with  the 
others.  Now  this  music  is  intended  to  give  assist- 
ance to  the  Shite  in  his  performance,  by  keeping 
time  with  the  harmonious  flow  of  his  song,  which 
is  usually  made  up  of  double  notes,  one  passage  be- 
ing divided  into  eight  parts.  The  rule,  however, 
may  undergo  a  little  modification  according  to  cir- 
cumstances. In  short,  the  essential  feature  of  the 
music  is  to  give  an  immense  interest  to  the  audience, 
by  nicely  keeping  time  with  the  flow  of  the  Shite' s 


196        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

words,  and  thus  giving  life  and  harmony  to  them." 
More  briefly  said:  The  instrumental  part  of  the 
Japanese  performance  of  No  punctuates  the  tempo, 
emphasises  the  rhythm  of  the  actor's  chant  or  recita- 
tive, and  helps  to  define  and  increase  the  emotional 
values  of  the  entire  performance. 

One  or  two  attendants,  dressed  in  ordinary  cos- 
tume and  supposed  to  be  invisible,  whose  office  is  to 
attend  upon  the  principal  actor,  place  a  seat  for  him, 
arrange  his  costume,  and  handle  the  simple  stage 
properties,  complete  the  personnel  of  the  No  as  per- 
formed at  the  present  time. 

It  was  customary  in  the  period  of  the  Tokugawa 
Shogunate,  and  still  continues  to  be,  that  a  complete 
No  performance  should  last  through  an  entire  long 
day,  and  should  consist  of  not  fewer  than  five  num- 
bers, each  of  a  different  kind.  As  has  already  been 
said,  these  serious  pieces  were  separated  by  Kyogen, 
or  comediettas  of  a  burlesque  character.  The  shorter 
performances,  to  which  tickets  may  be  obtained  for 
a  moderate  fee,  have  doubtless  been  visited  by  some 
of  my  readers.  But  I  doubt  whether  any  of  them 
has  ever  spent  an  entire  day  in  attending  the  regu- 
lar monthly  performances  of  the  rival  schools,  as 
they  are  given  for  the  entertainment  and  instruc- 
tion of  their  patrons  among  the  nobility  and  liter- 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY     197 

ati.  It  is,  perhaps,  more  doubtful  whether  they 
have  had  the  patience  to  hold  out  to  the  end  of  the 
day;  and  altogether  unlikely  that  they  have  had  the 
benefit  of  any  such  an  interpretation  as  that  af- 
forded us  by  the  companionship  of  my  friend,  Pro- 
fessor U .  For  this  reason,  as  well  as  for  the 

intrinsic  interest  of  the  subject,  I  shall  venture  to 
describe  with  some  detail  the  dramas  which  I  saw 
performed  during  two  all-day  sessions  of  the  actors 
and  patrons  of  the  No,  in  November,  1906. 

The  first  of  these  performances  was  at  the  house 
of  an  actor  of  note  who,  although  ill-health  had 
compelled  him  to  retire  from  the  stage,  had  built  in 
his  own  yard  a  theatre  of  the  most  approved  con- 
ventional pattern,  and  who  conducted  there  a 
school  for  this  kind  of  the  dramatic  art.  The  enter- 
prise was  supported  by  a  society,  who  paid  the  ex- 
penses by  making  yearly  subscriptions  for  their 
boxes.  Two  of  the  boxes  had  been  kindly  sur- 
rendered to  us  for  the  day  by  one  of  these  patrons. 

Although  we  reached  the  theatre,  after  early  ris- 
ing, a  hasty  breakfast,  and  a  long  jinrikisha  ride, 
before  nine  o'clock,  the  performance  had  been  go- 
ing on  for  a  full  hour  before  our  arrival.  The  first 
play  for  the  day  which  we  witnessed  bore  the  title 
of  "  Taira-no-Michimori  " ;  it  is  one  of  the  most 


i98         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

justly  celebrated  of  all  the  extant  No  dramas, 
both  for  its  lofty  ethical  and  religious  teaching  and 
also  for  its  excellent  artistic  qualities.  The  scene  is 
supposed  to  be  near  Kobe,  on  the  seashore.  A 
very  sketchy  representation  of  a  fisherman's  boat 
was  placed  at  the  left  of  the  stage.  The  chorus 
of  ten  men  came  solemnly  in,  knelt  in  two  rows  on 
the  right  of  the  stage,  and  laid  their  closed  fans  on 
the  floor  in  front  of  them.  The  four  musicians 
and  two  assistants  then  placed  themselves  at  the 
rear-centre  of  the  stage.  In  addition  to  the  use  of 
their  instruments,  as  already  described,  they  em- 
phasised the  performance  by  the  frequent,  monoto- 
nous emission  of  a  cry  which  sounds  like — "  Yo-he, 
yo-he,  yo-he." 

This  play  opens  with  the  appearance  of  two  char- 
acters, who  announce  themselves  as  wandering 
priests,  and  who  proclaim  the  wonderful  results 
which  their  intercessory  prayers  have  already 
achieved.  They  then  relate  the  fact  of  the  battle 
on  this  very  spot,  in  which  the  hero  of  the  play, 
Taira-no-Michimori,  was  slain.  So  great  was  the 
grief  of  his  wife  that,  when  she  heard  of  the  death 
of  her  husband,  she  threw  herself  over  the  sides  of 
the  boat  in  which  she  was  seated  at  the  time,  and 
was  drowned.  Since  then,  the  ghosts  of  the  un- 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY     199 

happy  pair  have  been  condemned  to  wander  to  and 
fro,  in  the  guise  of  simple  fisher-folk.  When  the 
priests  have  finished,  they  seat  themselves  at  the 
right-hand  corner  of  the  stage;  and  the  chorus  take 
up  the  story  of  the  battle,  and  its  sequent  events. 
First,  they  describe  in  poetic  language  the  beauty  of 
the  moonlight  upon  the  sea  and  its  shore.  But  as 
they  enter  upon  the  tale  of  so  great  and  hopeless  a 
disaster,  the  chorus  and  the  orchestra  become  more 
excited,  until — to  quote  the  statement  of  my  learned 
interpreter — they  cease  to  utter  intelligible  words, 
and  "  the  Hayaskikata  simply  howl." 

But  now  the  ghosts  themselves  appear  at  the  end 
of  the  long  raised  way  on  the  left,  by  which  they 
must  reach  the  stage;  and  with  that  strange,  slow 
and  stately,  gliding  motion  which  is  characteristic 
of  so  much  of  the  acting  in  this  kind  of  drama,  they 
make  their  way  to  the  skeleton  boat,  step  softly  into 
it,  and  stand  there  perfectly  motionless.  (It  is  ex- 
plained to  us  that,  in  No  "ladies  are  much  re- 
spected "  and  so  the  wife  stands  in  the  boat,  in  front 
of  her  husband, — a  thing  which  she  would  by  no 
means  have  done  in  the  real  life  of  the  period.) 

Standing  motionless  and  speechless  in  the  boat, 
with  their  white  death-masks  fixed  upon  the  audi- 
ence, the  wretched  ghosts  hear  the  church-bells 


200         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

ringing  the  summons  to  evening  prayer,  and  catch 
the  evening  song  which  is  being  chanted  by  the 
priests  within  the  temple  walls.  As  though  to  en- 
hance their  wretchedness  by  contrasting  with  it  the 
delights  of  earth,  the  chorus  begins  again  to  praise 
the  beauty  of  the  Autumn  moonlight  scene.  The 
persuasive  sounds  of  the  intoning  of  the  Buddhist 
scriptures,  and  the  prayers  of  the  priests  imploring 
mercy  upon  the  faithful  dead,  are  next  heard;  and 
at  this,  the  chorus  take  up  their  fans  from  the  floor 
and  begin  to  extol  the  saving  power  of  both  scrip- 
tures and  priestly  intercession.  And  now  the 
ghostly  forms  fall  upon  their  knees,  and  the  woman, 
as  though  to  propitiate  Heaven,  magnifies  the  cour- 
age and  fidelity  of  the  hero  and  recites  his  death- 
song  in  the  recent  battle.  At  this  the  chorus  break 
out  into  loud  lamentations  that  the  entire  family  of 
so  famous  a  hero  has  perished  and  that  no  soul  is 
left  alive  to  pray  for  the  souls  departed.  After  a 
period  of  kneeling,  with  their  hands  covering  their 
faces  in  an  attitude  of  hopeless  mourning,  the* 
ghosts  rise  and  slowly  move  off  the  stage;  and  the 
first  act  of  the  drama  comes  to  an  end. 

Between  the  acts,  a  man  appears  and  recites  in 
the  popular  language  what  has  already  been  told  by 
the  chorus  and  the  actors  in  the  more  archaic  Ian- 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY    201 

guage  of  the  drama  itself.  The  priests  ask  for  a 
detailed  narrative  of  the  character  and  life  of  the 
two  noble  dead;  and  in  response  to  this  request,  the 
reciter  seats  himself  at  the  centre  of  the  stage  and 
narrates  at  length  the  story  of  the  love  of  Itichi-no- 
Tami  (the  hero's  personal  name)  for  his  wife 
Koshaisho;  of  his  knightly  character;  and  of  her 
great  devotion  to  her  husband.  When  the  priests 
confess  themselves  puzzled  by  the  sudden  disap- 
pearance of  the  fisherman  and  his  wife,  the  reciter 
explains  that  their  prayers  have  prevailed,  and  that 
the  ghosts  of  Itichi-no-Tami  and  Koshaisho  will 
now  be  permitted  to  resume  their  proper  shape. 

During  this  popular  explanation,  the  audience, 
who,  being  for  the  most  part  composed  of  learned 
persons,  might  be  supposed  not  to  stand  in  need  of 
it,  engaged  freely  in  conversation,  and  availed 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  take  their  lunch- 
eons; while  through  the  window  at  the  end  of  the 
"bridge"  the  ghosts  might  be  seen  changing  their 
costumes  and  their  wigs,  with  the  assistance  of  sev- 
eral "  green-room  "  dressers. 

In  the  second  act  of  the  drama,  the  ghost  of  the 
hero  appears  in  his  proper  form,  gorgeously  dressed 
as  a  prince,  and  is  joined  by  his  wife  upon  the 
stage.  He  performs  a  very  elaborate  dance,  and 


202         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

recalls  his  parting  from  his  wife,  the  different  events 
of  the  battle,  his  wounding  and  defeat,  and  the 
wretched  conditions  that  followed.  These  recol- 
lections work  him  into  a  state  of  fury;  the  passion 
for  revenge  lays  hold  of,  and  so  powerfully  masters 
him,  that  all  which  has  already  been  done  for  his 
salvation  is  in  danger  of  being  lost.  And  now  be- 
gins a  terrible  spiritual  conflict  between  the  forces 
for  good  and  the  forces  for  evil,  over  a  human  soul. 
The  priests  pray  ever  more  fervently,  and  rub 
their  beads  ever  more  vigorously,  in  their  efforts  to 
exorcise  the  evil  spirits.  The  beating  of  the  drums 
and  the  "  yo-hes "  become  more  frequent  and 
louder.  But  at  last  the  prayers  of  the  priests  pre- 
vail; the  soul  of  the  doughty  warrior  is  reduced  to 
a  state  of  penitence  and  submission;  and  Itichi-no- 
Tami  and  Koshaisho  enter  Paradise  together. 

No  intelligent  and  sympathetic  witness  of  this 
dramatic  performance  could  easily  fail  to  be  im- 
pressed with  the  belief  that  its  influence,  in  its  own 
days,  must  have  been  powerful,  and  on  the  whole 
salutary.  For  in  spite  of  its  appeal  to  superstitious 
fears,  it  taught  the  significant  moral  truth  that 
knightly  courage  and  loyalty  in  battle — important 
virtues  as  they  are  (and  nowhere,  so  far  as  I  am 
aware,  is  there  any  teaching  in  the  No  perform- 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY    203 

ances  which  depreciates  them) — are  not  the  only 
important  virtues;  nor  do  they  alone  fit  the  human 
soul  for  a  happy  exit  from  this  life  or  for  a  happy 
reception  into  the  life  eternal.  And  as  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  efficacy  of  prayers  for  the  dead:  Has 
not  this  doctrine  been  made  orthodox  by  the  Ro- 
man-Catholic Church;  and  is  it  not  taught  by  the 
Church  of  England  prayer-book  and  believed  by 
not  a  few  in  other  Protestant  churches? 

The  next  of  the  No  performances  which  we  saw 
the  same  day  was  less  interesting  and  less  pronounc- 
edly a  matter  of  religious  dogma.  It  bore  the  title 
of  Hana-ga-Tamiy  or  "  The  Flower  Token."  This 
drama  tells  the  story  of  a  royal  personage  who  lived 
one  thousand  years  ago  in  the  country  near  Nara. 
For  his  mistress  he  had  a  lovely  and  devoted  coun- 
try maiden.  Although  he  had  not  expected  ever  to 
become  Emperor,  the  reigning  monarch  dying  sud- 
denly, the  young  man  is  selected  for  the  succession, 
and  is  summoned  in  great  haste  from  his  home  to 
ascend  the  vacant  throne.  So  great,  indeed,  was  his 
haste  that  he  could  not  say  farewell  to  his  lady- 
love, who  had  gone  on  a  visit  to  her  parents;  but 
he  leaves  a  letter  and  a  flower  for  her  as  a  token  of 
his  undiminished  affection.  Overcome  by  gratitude 
for  his  goodness  and  by  loneliness  in  her  abandoned 


204        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

condition,  the  girl  at  last  decides  to  follow  Tiim  to 
Nara, — at  that  time  the  Capital  of  the  country. 
She  takes  with  her  only  one  maid  and  the  precious 
flower-token.  After  many  frights — for  travelling 
at  that  time  was  very  dangerous — by  following  the 
birds  migrating  southward,  she  at  last  reaches 
Nara.  Being  poor,  and  without  retinue,  she  can- 
not secure  entrance  to  the  Palace;  but  she  manages 
to  intercept  a  royal  procession.  When  one  of  the 
Imperial  followers  reprimands  her  and  attempts  to 
strike  from  her  hand  the  flower-token,  to  which  she 
is  trying  to  call  the  Emperor's  attention,  she  be- 
comes indignant  and  performs  a  dance  that  wins  for 
itself  the  title  of  the  "  mad  dance."  In  the  pro- 
cession the  part  of  the  Emperor  is  taken  by  a  young 
boy;  since  to  have  such  a  part  performed  by  an 
adult  man  would  be  too  realistic  to  be  consistent 
with  the  Imperial  dignity.  The  attention  of  the 
Emperor  being  attracted  by  this  strange  perform- 
ance, he  expresses  a  wish  to  see  the  "  unknown  "  in 
her  "  mad  dance."  But  when  she  appears,  dressed 
in  bridal  robes  of  white  and  red,  and  tells  the  story 
of  her  life  in  a  long  song  accompanied  by  expres- 
sive movements,  and  finally  sends  her  love  to  His 
Majesty,  who  "  is  like  the  moon,"  so  far  above  a 
poor  girl  like  her,  and  like  the  reflection  of  the 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY    205 

"  moon  in  the  water,"  so  unobtainable;  the  Em- 
peror recognises  her  by  the  flower-token  and 
gives  orders  to  admit  her  to  the  Palace.  She  then 
exhibits  her  joy  in  another  song  and  dance,  which 
ends  with  the  fan  "  full-open,"  to  denote  happiness 
complete  and  unalloyed  and  admitting  of  "  no  more 
beyond." 

The  last  of  this  day's  No  performances  dealt 
again  with  the  power  of  the  prayer  of  the  minister 
of  religion  to  exorcise  evil  spirits.  Two  itinerant 
Buddhist  priests  find  themselves  at  nightfall  in  the 
midst  of  a  dense  forest.  They  send  a  servant  to 
discover  a  place  for  them,  where  they  may  spend 
the  night.  The  servant  returns  to  tell  them  of  a 
near-by  hut,  in  which  an  old  woman  lives  alone. 
They  go  to  the  hut,  boasting  by  the  way  that  their 
prayers  can  even  bring  down  a  bird  on  the  wing; 
but  when  they  reach  the  hut  and  ask  for  shelter,  its 
occupant  at  first  declines  to  receive  them,  on  the 
ground  that  her  dwelling  is  too  poor  and  small  to 
shelter  them.  At  last  they  persuade  her ;  whereupon 
she  comes  out  of  the  bamboo  cage,  which  represents 
her  hut,  and  opens  an  imaginary  gate  for  them.  The 
priests  show  much  interest  in  her  spinning-wheel. 
But  she  appears  sadly  disturbed  in  mind  at  their 
presence;  and  finally  announces  that,  as  the  night  is 


206        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

so  cold,  she  will  go  out  and  gather  a  supply  of  fire- 
wood. With  an  air  of  mystery  she  requires  from 
them  a  promise  not  to  enter  her  sleeping-room  while 
she  is  absent;  and  having  obtained  their  promise,  she 
takes  her  leave. 

The  aged  servant  of  the  priests,  however,  be- 
comes suspicious  of  something  wrong,  and  begs 
permission  of  his  masters  to  enter  the  forbidden 
room,  since  he  has  himself  taken  no  part  in  their 
promise;  but  as  a  point  of  honour  they  refuse  his 
earnest  request.  The  servant,  in  spite  of  their  re- 
fusal, feigns  sleep  for  a  time,  and  then  when  his 
masters  have  fallen  into  a  sound  slumber,  he  steals 
away  to  the  bedroom  of  the  old  woman.  On  the 
first  two  or  three  attempts,  he  makes  so  much  noise 
as  to  waken  the  priests;  but  finally  he  succeeds  in 
entering  the  room  which,  to  his  horror,  he  finds 
filled  with  human  bones, — all  carefully  classified! 
He  then  rushes  to  his  masters  and  wakens  them  with 
the  information  that  their  hostess  is  really  a  canni- 
bal witch,  and  that  they  must  escape  for  their  lives. 
This  advice  he  at  once  puts  into  practice  by  making 
good  his  own  escape.  But  the  flight  of  the  priests 
is  only  symbolised  by  their  standing  perfectly  mo- 
tionless in  one  corner  of  the  stage,  while  the  chorus 
eloquently  recites  these  blood-curdling  experiences. 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY    207 

When  the  witch,  in  her  demon-like  form,  over- 
takes the  ministers  of  the  Buddhist  religion,  the 
two  spiritual  forces  represented  by  the  actors  then 
on  the  stage  enter  into  the  same  kind  of  conflict  as 
that  which  has  already  been  described.  The  de- 
mon rages  furiously;  the  priests  pray  fervently,  and 
rub  their  rosaries  with  ever-increasing  vigour;  for 
the  contest  is  over  a  human  soul.  But  at  the  last  the 
evil  spirit  is  subdued,  becomes  penitent,  and  humbly 
begs  their  prayers  that  so  she,  too,  may  enter  Para- 
disc  in  peace. 

It  was  just  three  weeks  later  than  this  that  I  re- 
ceived an  invitation  to  attend  the  monthly  all-day 
performance  of  another  and  rival  school  of  No.  The 
invitation  came  from  one  of  the  principal  patrons  of 
this  school,  Baron  M ,  the  gentleman  who  in- 
troduced the  modern  postal  system  into  Japan;  it 
was  accompanied  by  the  offer  of  his  box  for  the 
day,  and  by  a  messenger  from  the  "No-Kwai," 
who  was  to  explain  the  differences  of  the  rival 
schools.  The  interest  of  this  occasion  was  enhanced 
by  the  presence  of  a  native  artist,  who  was  making 
studies  for  a  future  picture,  and  who  kindly  presented 
us  with  several  sketches  of  the  leading  actors  in  the 
dramas  of  that  day. 

It  seemed  that  this  Society  is    more    "  militant " 


208         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

than  the  other;  and  it  is  consequently  more  patron- 
ised by  men  in  the  army.  General  Noghi  and  Ad- 
mira  Togo  were  mentioned  as  conspicuous  examples 
of  this  claim.  The  patrons  wished  me  to  understand 
that  these  and  many  other  examples  of  the  Samurai 
spirit  (the  so-called  "Bushido")  had  been  greatly 
influenced  by  the  No.  I  must  confess  that  the  ex- 
planation seemed,  from  the  foreign  and  novitiate 
point  of  view,  to  be  somewhat  mystical;  the  influ- 
ence alleged,  more  or  less  mythical.  But  such  was 
the  claim  of  the  school,  "No-Kwai."  The  No- 
dance, — so  they  held — by  its  deliberate  and  almost 
motionless  posturing,  followed  by  swift  and  deci- 
sive action,  expresses  the  very  essence  of  the  Samu- 
rai temper  and  habit.  Doubtless  these  traits  of  the 
Samurai  are  given  dramatic  representation  by  the 
No,  where  its  motif  and  plot  are  connected  with 
some  story  of  the  ancient  heroes.  But  whether 
this  is  proof  of  the  Samurai  spirit  influencing  the 
No,  or  rather  of  the  No  influencing  the  Samurai 
men,  I  was  not  able  to  decide.  Indeed,  it  may 
easily  have  been  one  of  those  cases  of  influences 
which  work  both  ways  at  the  same  time.  Cer- 
tainly, Japan  played  the  great  tragedy  of  the  war 
with  Russia,  as  influenced  largely  by  this  temper 
and  spirit. 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY    209 

The  first  performance  of  this  day  bore  the  title 
of  "  Kusanagi," — the  name  of  the  sword  worn  by  the 
Imperial  Prince,  Yamatotake-no-Mikoto.  This 
prince  was  one  of  the  most  famous  of  those  who 
fought  against  the  Ainus,  or  wild  indigenous  people 
which,  at  this  time,  were  still  dwelling  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Tokyo.  While  crossing  an  inlet  of 
the  sea  in  a  storm,  the  wife  of  the  hero  had  thrown 
herself  into  the  water,  believing  that  the  sea-god 
would  not  be  appeased  without  a  human  sacrifice. 
This  deed  of  self-sacrifice,  she,  therefore,  did  for 
the  sake  of  her  husband  and  the  Imperial  family. 
And,  in  fact,  according  to  the  tradition,  the  sea  at 
once  became  miraculously  calm. 

The  drama  opens  with  the  usual  wandering 
Buddhist  priest,  who,  after  introducing  himself  to 
the  audience,  takes  his  seat  at  the  right  of  the  stage. 
Soon  after,  the  spirits  of  the  Prince  and  his  wife 
appear — he  with  very  fierce  countenance  and  long 
hair;  and  the  wife  seats  herself  beside  the  priest. 
But  the  Prince,  seated  in  the  centre  of  the  stage, 
relates  at  length  in  a  dramatic  song  the  story  of  his 
battles  with  the  Ainus.  The  savages  fought  so 
fiercely  that  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that 
the  princely  warrior  could  finally  subdue  them. 
When  they  set  fire  to  the  underbrush  and  tall 


210         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

grasses,  it  was  only  with  the  help  of  Kusanagi,  the 
"  sword  of  the  gods,"  that  he  was  able  to  cut  his 
way  out  to  a  place  of  safety.  After  dancing  a 
wild  dance,  descriptive  of  the  battle,  the  fire,  and 
his  escape,  the  first  act  of  this  drama  comes  to  an 
end. 

During  the  interval  between  the  acts,  the  priest 
repeats  prayers  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of  the 
hero  and  his  wife;  and  when,  finally,  they  return  to 
the  stage  in  their  true  forms,  they  are  informed  that 
his  prayers  have  availed,  their  souls  are  saved,  and 
that  they  can  enter  Paradise. 

It  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  describe  the  example 
of  the  Kyogen,  or  comedietta,  which  followed  this 
drama;  it  had  for  its  theme  that  trial  of  wits  be- 
tween the  scapegrace  son  and  the  doting  father, 
which  has  furnished  fun  for  so  many  generations  of 
play-goers,  among  many  nations,  from  the  comedies 
of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome  down  to  the  present 
time. 

The  hero  of  the  second  drama  of  this  all-day's 
No  performance  was  Yorimasa,  a  general  of  the 
Minamoto  family,  who  was  the  first  to  raise  arms 
against  the  Tairas;  but  as  he  struck  too  soon,  he 
was  defeated  on  the  wooded  bank  of  the  river  be- 
tween Nara  and  Kyoto.  After  he  fell  in  battle, 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY    211 

Yoritomo  and  Yoshitsune  defeated  the  Taira  fam- 
ily. When  the  priest  who  introduces  the  perform- 
ance comes  upon  the  stage,  he  first  describes  his 
journey  from  Nara  to  Kyoto.  On  reaching  the 
river  Uji  he  dwells  particularly  on  the  exceeding 
beauty  of  the  scenery.  But  now  the  wailing  of  a 
lost  spirit  is  heard,  and  the  ghost  of  Yorimasa  ap- 
pears in  the  guise  of  an  old  farmer.  The  priest 
addresses  him  and  begins  to  inquire  into  the  details 
of  the  event  so  celebrated  in  history;  but  the  ghost 
replies  that,  since  he  is  only  a  poor  and  ignorant 
peasant,  he  cannot  be  expected  to  know  anything  of 
such  matters. 

Soon,  however,  priest  and  peasant  join  in  praises 
of  the  beautiful  scenery,  and  speak  together  of  the 
temple,  whose  sweet-sounding  bell  is  heard  in  the 
distance.  When  reference  is  made  to  a  peculiar 
kind  of  grass  growing  near  by,  the  priest  recites  the 
story  of  how  Yorimasa  sat  upon  this  fan-shaped 
grass  and  committed  suicide,  after  his  defeat  in 
battle.  The  temple,  whose  bell  has  just  sounded, 
was  built  in  his  memory.  The  farmer  then  recalls 
the  fact  that  this  is  the  anniversary  of  Yorimasa's 
death;  he  is  also  moved  to  tell  once  more  the  story 
of  the  battle  and  to  illustrate  it  by  a  dance.  While 
the  priest  prays  for  the  spirit  of  the  dead  hero,  the 


2i2         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

old  farmer  suddenly  vanishes,  leaving  his  interces- 
sor with  Heaven  alone  upon  the  stage.  The  musi- 
cal accompaniment,  which  has  grown  unusually 
weird  and  sweet,  continues  for  some  time,  but 
finally  dies  away. 

The  popular  reciter,  or  so-called  "  farce  man," 
now  appears  and  narrates  the  story  of  Yorimasa's 
exploits  and  death,  in  the  language  of  the  common 
folk,  while  conversing  with  the  priest.  During 
this  recital,  the  drums  are  laid  upon  the  floor,  and 
the  musicians  face  each  other  rather  than  the  audi- 
ence, in  attitudes  of  repose.  At  the  close  of  the 
conversation,  the  priest  speaks  of  his  encounter  with 
the  aged  farmer,  of  his  sudden  disappearance,  and 
of  his  own  rising  suspicion  that  this  seeming  of  a 
mere  peasant  might  have  been  indeed  the  spirit  of 
the  departed  hero. 

And  now  the  orchestra  begin  again.  The  drums 
beat  time  and  the  flute  wails  in  company  with  the 
weird  cry  of  "  Yo-he "  from  the  drummers.  Soon 
the  spirit  of  Yorimasa  appears  upon  the  stage;  but 
no  longer  in  the  guise  of  an  aged  peasant;  he  is 
gorgeously  arrayed  in  garments  of  gold  brocade, 
with  a  general's  sword  and  fan;  and  in  an  elaborate 
dance  he  gives  his  version  of  the  story  of  the  bat- 
tle. On  being  questioned  by  the  priest,  the  spirit 


1 

I 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY    213 

reveals  himself  as  indeed  Yorimasa,  and  humbly 
begs  for  the  religious  man's  intercessory  prayers. 
The  priest  assures  the  warrior  that  his  soul  can  be 
saved  by  these  prayers.  Comforted  by  this  prom- 
ise, the  hero  then  resumes  the  story  of  the  battle, — 
how  valiantly  he  fought  on  the  bridge  over  the 
river  Uji;  how  the  enemy  succeeded  in  crossing  the 
river  and  overcoming  him.  Seating  himself  on  the 
stump  of  a  broken  tree,  he  mourns  his  defeat  and 
wasted  life  in  a  touching  poem,  the  translation  of 
which  is  something  like  this: 

"On  the  grass  that  is  fan-shaped, 
My  life  ended  like  the  life  of  this  tree; 
Buried  beneath  the  earth. 
Its  fruitless  fate  was  indeed  a  sad  one; 
For  it  neither  blossomed  nor  flourished." 

The  drama  ends  when  the  warrior,  overcome  by 
the  memory  of  his  own  sorrows  and  by  grief  for 
those  slain  with  him  in  battle,  throws  down  his 
sword  and  weeps, — spreading  out  his  fan  before 
him. 

The  intervening  farce  represented  the  exploits 
of  three  blind  men  who  had  stolen  a  Biwa,  and  of 
a  friend  of  the  owner  who  tried  to  get  it  back. 
Then  followed  a  slightly  different  version  of  the 


2i4         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

drama  called  "  Hana-ga-Tami,"  or  "The  Flower 
Token,"  which  we  had  already  seen  at  the  other 
theatre.  And  this  was  followed,  in  turn,  by  a  farce 
which  made  fun  of  the  attempted  frauds  of  three 
sellers  of  patent  medicines. 

The  last  No  performance  of  the  day  bore  the 
title  of  "  Akogi,"  the  name  of  a  sea-side  place  near 
Ise.    A  fisherman  has  committed  the  awful  crime 
of  fishing  in  forbidden  waters, — in  fact,  in  waters 
no  less  sacred  than  those  of  the  fish-pond  of  the  Im- 
perial shrines   at  Ise.     For  this  unpardonable  sin 
he  has  been  executed.     But  he  has  not  stopped  at 
the  crime  of  poaching  on  the  preserves  of  the  most 
inviolable  of  all  the  temples.     He  has  killed  the 
fish  which  he  caught,  and  has  thus  sinned  against 
one  of  the  most  sacred  of  the  tenets  of  Buddhism. 
When,  then,  his  ghost  expresses  the  utmost  contri- 
tion and  begs  a  travelling  priest  to  intercede  for  its 
salvation,  he  begs  in  vain.     For  he  is  told  that  his 
sin  is   against   both   Heaven   and    the   Heaven-de- 
scended Emperor,  and  is  therefore  beyond  all  pos- 
sible   forgiveness.     At    this    the    lost    spirit    goes 
through  a  wild  dance,    which   gives   a    pantomimic 
representation    of    his    secret    crime,    and    of    the 
throwing  of  his  headless  body  into  the  sea;  where 


JAPANESE    MIRACLE-PLAY    215 

"  the  waves  of  water  are  changed  for  him  into 
waves  of  fire.1'  Any  severe  foreign  criticism  of 
the  astonishing  disproportion  between  this  poor  fel- 
low's crime  and  the  punishment  it  brought  upon 
him,  might  easily  be  modified  by  reminder  of  the 
old-time  game-laws  in  England  and  other  European 
countries ;  as  well  as  of  the  comparatively  trivial 
causes  which  have  led  certain  Christian  sects  to  con- 
sign their  fellow  men  to  hopeless  perdition. 

The  most  painstaking  observation  and  subsequent 
reflection  did  not  enable  me  to  decide  in  my  own 
mind  between  these  rival  schools  of  No,  on  the 
ground  of  their  relative  assthetical  merits.  I  had 
valid  reasons,  therefore,  besides,  the  reasonable  cau- 
tion of  politeness,  for  declining  to  render  any  deci- 
sion. It  was  not  difficult  to  see,  however,  that  the 
Ho-sho-kwai,  or  more  "  militant "  of  the  two 
schools,  dealt  with  more  discretion, — not  to  say 
timorousness, — with  the  religious  value  of  the 
Bushido,  and  with  the  future  fate  of  those  who, 
without  the  faith  of  Buddhism,  are  governed  by  its 
moral  code.  With  regard  to  influence,  in  general,  ' 
of  this  form  of  the  art  of  dramatic  representation, 
upon  the  aesthetical  and  moral  development  of  the 
Japanese  people,  on  the  whole,  I  have  no  doubt  of 


216        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

its  salutary  character.  Like  the  old  Greek  drama, 
but  unlike  anything  which  we  have,  or  at  present 
seem  likely  to  have,  in  this  country,  the  No  has  both 
expressed  and  cultivated  much  of  what  has  been  ar- 
tistically and  ethically  best  of  the  life  characteristic 
of  the  national  development. 


CHAPTER     IX 

IKEGAMI   AND   JAPANESE   BUDDHISM 

IT  is  nearly  seven  hundred  years  since  the  man, 
known  to  us  of  to-day  as  Nichiren  or  "  Sun  Lotus," 
was  born  in  the  obscure  and  small  village  of  Komi- 
nato,  Japan.  While  his  doctrine  and  his  death 
have  served  to  render  celebrated  the  two  monaster- 
ies which  are  head-quarters  of  the  sect  he  founded, 
his  birth  and  boyhood  there  have  not  rescued  this 
village  from  its  obscurity  or  greatly  increased  the 
number  of  its  inhabitants.  Kominato  lies  on  the 
ocean  side  of  the  peninsula  which  encloses  Tokyo 
Bay, — the  body  of  water  with  the  capital  city  at  its 
head  and  Yokohama,  the  principal  port  of  the  coun- 
try, on  its  western  shore.  The  railroad  now  runs 
part  way  down  the  peninsula,  but  does  not  as  yet 
consider  it  worth  while  to  extend  itself  into  a  region 
which,  although  its  coast  is  interesting  and  pictur- 
esque, is  occupied  almost  exclusively  by  fishermen 
and  petty  tillers  of  the  soil.  The  case  is  by  no 
means  the  same,  however,  with  Minobu  and  Ike- 
gami,  the  two  monasteries  which  divide  between 
them  the  welcome  task  of  cherishing  the  bones  of 

217 


218         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

their  saintly  founder.  These  monasteries  are  much 
visited,  not  only  by  the  members  of  the  sect,  but 
also  by  other  Japanese 'engaged  in  going  upon  reli- 
gious pilgrimages  and  more  purely  secular  sight- 
seeing excursions.  At  the  chief  annual  festivals 
the  grounds  of  these  monasteries,  and  the  surround- 
ing villages,  are  densely  thronged  with  both  sight- 
seers and  devotees;  and  indeed  with  all  sorts  of  vis- 
itors. A  few  of  these  visitors,  occasionally,  are 
foreigners.  I  think,  however,  that  no  other  foreigner 
has  visited  either  of  the  monasteries  in  the  same 
way  in  which  it  was  my  privilege  twice  to  visit  Ike- 
gami,  during  the  Autumn  of  1906. 

But  before  giving  an  account  of  this  visit  I  wish 
to  say  a  few  words  as  to  Nichiren  and  the  Buddhist 
communion  which  has  borne  his  name  during  all 
these  centuries.  Ais  is  the  right  of  all  great  saints 
and  religious  reformers  in  the  days  when  science 
had  not  yet  claimed  to  have  made  impossible  any 
credit  given  to  such  stories,  the  entire  career  of 
Nichiren  was  enveloped  in  the  supernatural;  it  was 
even  frequently  punctuated  by  the  miraculous.  His 
very  name,  "  Sun-Lotus,"  is  derived  from  a  dream 
by  his  mother,  in  which  she  saw  the  sun  on  a  lotus- 
flower  and  in  consequence  of  which  she  became 
pregnant.  From  the  first  her  offspring  was  endued 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM    219 

with  supernatural  power,  so  that  he  acquired  the 
most  perfect  knowledge  of  the  entire  Buddhist 
canon  while  yet  in  his  youth.  And  later,  when  his 
zealous  and  uncompromising  denunciation  of  the 
existing  government  made  it  possible  for  his  ene- 
mies to  persuade  the  Regent  Tokimune  that  the 
doctrines  of  Nichiren  tended  to  subvert  the  state, 
the  executioner  sent  to  behead  him  could  not  com- 
pel his  sword  to  act  upon  the  neck  of  so  holy  a  man. 
What  wonder  that  the  relics  of  so  invulnerable  a 
saint  should  be  thought  to  have  value  for  purposes 
of  both  protection  and  cure,  even  after  the  lapse  of 
centuries  of  time! 

The  important  facts  of  the  life  of  Nichiren  can 
be  briefly  told.  He  was  born,  1222  A.  D.  He  en- 
tered upon  study  for  the  priesthood  at  the  early  age 
of  twelve,  and  three  or  four  years  later  became  a 
tonsured  priest.  His  authorised  biographer  of  to- 
day, Wakita  Gyoziun,  himself  a  priest  of  the  Nich- 
iren sect,  in  deference  to  modern  views  omits  all 
references  to  miraculous  experiences  in  the  life  of 
his  master.  He  makes  Nichiren  spend  all  his 
youth,  until  thirty-two  years  of  age,  in  study  and 
travel  consisting  of  journeys  undertaken  in  vari- 
ous directions,  visiting  many  eminent  sages  and 
teachers  of  Buddhism,  in  quest  of  the  "  True  Doc* 


220         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

trine."  But  everywhere  the  wanderer  found  er- 
rors, heresies,  and  corruptions,  both  of  doctrine  and 
of  life.  The  consequence  was  that  Nichiren  deter- 
mined to  "  discard  the  opinions  of  the  sectaries  al- 
together, and  to  search  for  the  Truth  in  his  own 
consciousness  and  in  the  sacred  writings."  This 
resolve  led  to  the  discovery  that  this  truth  is  to  be 
found  only  in  "  The  Holy  Book  of  the  Lotus  of 
the  Good  Law  " ;  and,  besides,  it  produced  a  cour- 
age that  became  audacity  in  the  denunciation  of  ex- 
isting error  and  civil  wrongs ;  and,  as  well,  a  zealous 
confidence  which  generated  intolerance  in  the  double 
attempt  to  impress  his  own  convictions  and  to  con- 
trovert the  heresies  of  the  other  sects.  Opposition 
and  persecution  followed  as  a  matter  of  course. 
While  these  things  succeeded  in  restricting  his 
work,  so  that  when  Nichiren  entered  Nirvana  he 
left  behind  only  some  forty  recognised  disciples, 
they  did  not  prevent  the  permanency  of  his  impres- 
sion upon  his  country.  Fifteen  years  ago  the  Nich- 
iren sect  in  Japan  had  five  thousand  temples,  seven 
thousand  priests,  and  more  than  two  million  of  ad- 
herents. 

If  I  were  capable  of  expounding  credibly  the 
theology,  whether  more  popular  or  more  philo- 
sophical, of  this  Buddhist  sect,  I  fear  that  I  could 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM    221 

not  make  it  understood.  For  it  employs  that  man- 
ner of  clothing  its  conceptions  in  figures  of  speech, 
and  of  couching  its  syllogisms  in  remotely  related 
analogies  and  symbols,  which  characterises  the  phi- 
losophy and  theology  of  the  Orient  in  general. 
But  there  are  two  things  about  the  Nichiren  sect  to 
which  it  is  quite  worth  while  to  invite  attention. 
These  are  rather  permanent  characteristics  which 
were  impressed  upon  it  by  the  character  of  its 
founder.  The  first  is  the  appeal  which  it  makes  to 
the  authority  of  the  written  word.  It  was  origi- 
nally a  Protestant  or  reforming  sect;  but  it  became 
almost  at  once  a  claim  to  give  final  form  to  the 
truth  in  a  book  written  by  men  of  old  time ;  and  this 
scripture  must  not  be  contested  or  even  questioned 
as  to  its  right  to  demand  submission.  This 
sect  has,  therefore,  been  more  than  any  of  the 
others  a  church  militant;  and,  indeed,  to-day 
it  is  said  to  have  special  attractions  for  those  reli- 
giously inclined  among  the  military  classes.  But 
more  distinctive  still  of  the  Nichiren  sect  is  the  pe- 
culiar type  of  its  patriotism.  The  one  tenet — it 
has  been  called  the  "axiom" — which  the  founder 
laid  down  as  the  basis  of  his  life-work,  was  the  as- 
sertion that  "  the  prosperity  or  decline  of  the  state 
depends  entirely  upon  the  truth  or  perversion  of  its 


222         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

religion."  Nichiren,  accordingly,  boldly  accused 
both  rulers  and  ruled  as  wanderers  in  dangerous 
and  fatal  errors.  The  truth,  he  held,  must  some- 
how be  substituted  for  falsehood,  or  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  the  country  could  not  be  attained.  In 
this  belief  he  launched  defiance  at  the  government 
of  the  time;  in  the  same  belief  he  had  the  prevision 
that  the  Mongols  under  Kublai  Khan  would  invade 
Japan,  and  it  was  as  influenced  by  this  prophetic 
vision  that  he  stirred  up  both  rulers  and  people  to 
resist  them.  In  the  opinion  of  the  faithful  it  was 
the  prayers  of  this  saint  which  induced  the  gods  to 
overthrow  the  invaders.  All  through  its  history 
his  sect  has  cherished  the  same  militant  spirit — not 
only  in  its  methods  of  extending  its  own  adherents, 
but  also  in  respect  to  the  watch  it  has  kept  over  the 
fidelity  of  its  members  to  the  sect  as  a  matter  of 
patriotic  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  country  at 
large.  Instead  of  "  God  and  the  Czar,"  it  is 
"  Buddha  and  Nippon,"  which  may  be  said  to  have 
hitherto  been  the  motto  of  the  Nichiren-Shu. 

The  manifold  and  rapid  changes  which  are  being 
effected  in  all  departments  of  the  life  of  the  Japan- 
ese people  have  seldom  been  more  forcefully  illus- 
trated in  my  experience  than  they  were  by  the  two 
visits  to  Ikegami,  to  which  reference  has  already 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM    223 

been  made.  Beyond  their  local  colouring,  which  is 
in  itself  enough  to  make  them  interesting,  they  have 
a  wider  significance  as  showing  how  the  popular 
forms  of  religion  which  characterise  the  various 
sects  of  Buddhism  in  Japan  are  adapting  themselves 
to  the  exigencies  and  expediences  of  the  modern 
time. 

The  great  annual  festival  in  honor  of  Nichiren  is 
held  at  Ikegami  from  the  eleventh  to  the  thirteenth 
of  October.  But  the  night  of  the  twelfth  is  the  cul- 
minating period  of  the  entire  celebration.  On  the 
afternoon  of  this  date,  at  the  close  of  my  lecture  to 
the  teachers  of  the  Imperial  Educational  Society, 
two  of  my  former  pupils  were  in  waiting  to  conduct 
me  to  Shimbashi,  the  "  Grand  Central "  railway 
station  of  Tokyo.  Here  two  more  former  pupils 
were  met,  whose  kindly  office  was  to  see  that  a  din- 
ner should  be  prepared,  suitable  to  those  expecting 
to  spend  the  night  upon  their  feet  in  a  drizzle  of 
rain  rather  than  lying  dry  and  warm  in  a  comfort- 
able bed.  Of  these  Japanese  friends,  all  four  were 
teachers;  but  one  was  a  priest  of  the  Nichiren  sect 
who,  after  several  years  of  study  of  philosophy  in 
this  country,  had  returned  to  his  native  land  to 
found  a  school  for  the  training  of  "temple  boys." 
The  trains,  which  were  leaving  every  few  minutes  for 


224         RARE     DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

Omori,  the  station  nearest  to  the  monastery,  were 
all  crowded  to  their  utmost  capacity — so  far  as  the 
third-class  cars  were  concerned.  But.,  there  was 
abundant  room  for  the  comparatively  few  who 
chose  the  second-class.  By  the  time  we  left  the 
train  at  Omori,  darkness  had  come  on — a  darkness 
made  more  dense  and  gloomy  by  the  character  of 
the  sky  overhead,  and  more  disagreeable  by  the  con- 
dition of  the  ground  underfoot.  The  sights  which 
followed,  however,  were  not  easily  to  be  forgotten. 
The  roadway  for  the  entire  two  miles  from  Omori 
to  Ikegami  was  lined  with  either  the  more  perma- 
nent shops  of  the  village  through  which  we  were 
passing  or  with  booths  extemporised  for  the  occa- 
sion, all  gaily  lighted  with  lamps  and  coloured  lan- 
terns, and  so  thronged  with  surging  crowds  that  in- 
dependent progress  was  nearly  or  quite  impossible. 
Indeed,  when  we  reached  the  one  hundred  stone 
steps  which  ascend  the  hill  on  whose  top  the  build- 
ings of  the  monastery  are  standing,  there  was  no 
other  way  than  to  allow  ourselves  to  be  slowly  borne 
upward  by  the  weight  of  the  human  mass.  But 
even  here,  there  was  apparent  no  pushing  or  rude- 
ness of  other  kind. 

Having  arrived  at  the  top  of  the  stone  stairway, 
and  at  least  partially  extricated  ourselves  from  the 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM    225 

crowd,  our  attention  was  directed  to  the  students 
of  the  neighbouring  Nichiren  College,  who  were 
posted  here  and  there,  throughout  the  dimly  lan- 
tern-lighted grove,  exhorting  the  people  to  the  reli- 
gious life  and  expounding  the  tenets  of  the  sect. 
But  the  crowd  on  the  outside,  for  the  most  part,  was 
not  on  religion  bent.  The  Hondo,  or  main  temple, 
however,  was  solidly  packed  with  a  body  of  truly 
devout  believers,  all  sitting  on  the  floor  and  expect- 
ing to  spend  the  entire  night  in  silent  meditation  and 
devout  prayer. 

With  great  difficulty  we  forced  our  way  to  the 
beautiful  and  new  priests-house  which  had  been 
built  in  the  place  of  a  similar  one  among  the  several 
monastery  buildings  destroyed  by  a  recent  fire. 
There  I  was  received  with  no  small  ceremony, 
ushered  into  a  waiting-room  that  had  been  reserved 
for  us,  and  offered  cakes  and  tea.  Soon  the  chief 
abbot  and  the  vice-abbots  came  in  to  greet  us  and 
to  express  their  regret  that,  since  all  the  rooms  of 
the  monastery  were  occupied  by  the  faithful  who 
had  come  to  pass  the  night  there,  they  could  not 
entertain  their  guest  more  as  they  would  have  de- 
sired. Before  excusing  himself,  however,  the  chief 
abbot  invited  me  to  bring  Mrs.  Ladd  and,  at  some 
time  in  November,  when  the  maple  trees  for  which 


226         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

Ikegami  is  justly  celebrated  should  be  at  their  best, 
give  them  the   pleasure    of   making   us   both    their 
guests.    At  that  future  time  it  was  promised  that 
we  should  see  the  best  of  the  temple's  treasures,  and 
have   the  principles   of  the   sect   duly   expounded. 
For  the  present,  one  of  the  vice-abbots,  who  seemed 
overflowing  with  religious  enthusiasm,  explained  in 
a  somewhat  deprecatory  way  that,  although  the  au- 
thorities of  the  monastery  did  not  by  any  means  ap- 
prove of  all  which  was  done  by  the  crowds  who  at 
tended  the  festival,  and  would  not  wish  to  have  the 
spiritual  principles  of  the  sect  judged  by  this  stand* 
ard,  they  did  not  think  it  best  to  check  the  manifes- 
tation of  interest.     In  reply  I  was  glad  to  say  that 
I  had  seen  nothing  suggestive  of  immoral  conduct. 
I  was  indeed — although  I  kept  the  thought  to  my- 
self— reminded    of    the    answer    of    my    Bengali 
friend,  Mr.  Kali  Bannerji,  who,  when  I  asked  him 
if  the  Bengalese  have  any  proverb  corresponding  to 
ours  about  "  killing  two  birds  with  one  stone,"  re- 
sponded :     "  Yes,  we  say,  going  to  see  the  religious 
procession  and  selling  our  cabbages."     But  it  is  not 
in  India  or  Japan  alone  that  religion  and  cabbages 
are  mixed  up  in  some  such  way. 

The  promise  of  another  visit  to  Ikegami,  when 
daylight  and  leisure  should  make  it  possible  to  see 


THE  CHIEF  ABBOT  CAME  IN  TO  GREET  US 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM     227 

the  place  and  hear  the  doctrine  much  better,  accen- 
tuated our  willingness  at  the  present  time  to  spend 
one-half  rather  than  the  whole  of  the  night  in  see- 
ing the  festival,  however  interesting  and  instructive 
it  was  likely  to  prove  to  be.  Not  long  after  mid- 
night, therefore,  we  began  the  severer  task  of  forc- 
ing our  way  against  the  crowd  and  back  to  the  rail- 
way station  where  we  could  take  the  train  for 
our  return  to  Tokyo. 

But,  first,  let  us  spend  a  few  minutes  in  taking  in 
more  thoroughly  the  remarkable  scene  afforded  by 
the  annual  all-night  festival  in  honour  of  its 
founder  whose  birth  occurred  nearly  seven  hundred 
years  ago.  The  stately  and  somewhat  gloomily 
beautiful  cryptomerias,  which  are  the  favourites  for 
temple-groves  in  Japan,  when  seen  at  night  through 
the  upward  rays  of  myriads  of  coloured  lanterns, 
form  a  rarely  impressive  and  appropriate  vault  for 
a  congregation  of  out-door  worshippers.  No  ca- 
thedral pillars  made  by  human  hands  can  easily 
rival  them.  The  wholly  frank  exposure  of  the 
mixture  of  motives  which  has  brought  the  crowds 
together  does  not  necessarily  lessen  the  complex  im- 
pressiveness  of  the  scene.  The  aged  peasant  man 
or  woman,  bronzed  and  bowed  nearly  double  with 
years  of  hard  labor  under  a  semi-tropical  sun,  and 


228         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

the  child-nurse  with  the  wide-eyed  baby  on  her 
back;  the  timid  and  lady-like  maiden  with  her 
grand-dame  or  servant  for  escort,  and  the  stalwart 
youth  of  the  other  sex  who  has  the  frame  of  an  ath- 
lete and  something  of  the  manners  of  a  "  soshi  " ; 
tonsured  priests,  and  temple  boys,  venders  of  eat- 
ables and  drinkables,  of  toys  and  charms,  of  reli- 
gious notions  and  bric-a-brac; — all  these,  and 
others,  for  various  purposes  have  come  to  the  fes- 
tival at  Ikegami.  Preaching,  beating  of  drums, 
praying  and  clapping  of  hands,  the  clinking  of 
small  coins  as  they  fall  into  the  collection-boxes, 
blend  in  a  strange  low  monotone  of  sound;  while 
the  sight  of  some  faces  upturned  in  religious  ecstasy 
and  the  sight  of  others  gaping  with  curiosity  or  giv- 
ing signs  of  mirth,  invite  our  sympathy  in  somewhat 
conflicting  ways.  Doubtless,  as  we  have  just  been 
told,  all  that  the  crowds  do  at  the  annual  all-night 
festival  at  Ikegami  is  not  to  be  approved  in  the 
name  of  religion,  and  perhaps  not  in  the  name  of 
morality;  but  there  in  the  temple  built  by  men  be- 
neath nature's  greater  temple  were  the  "  good  few  " 
of  the  truly  devout  and  faithful,  according  to  their 
light  and  to  the  inner  voice  which  they  sincerely 
believe  has  spoken  to  them,  as  it  had  spoken  to 
their  patron  saint,  the  holy  Nichiren,  so  many  cen- 
turies before. 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM     229 

All  the  way  from  the  foot  of  the  hundred  stone 
steps  to  the  station  of  Omori  the  road  was  still 
packed  with  those  coming  to  join  for  the  night  in 
the  festival  at  Ikegami.  And  now  we  were  fre- 
quently compelled  to  stop  entirely  and  stand  beside 
the  way,  in  order  to  let  pass  by  more  than  two-score 
of  those  sodalities  of  which  the  sect  boasts,  in  all 
one  hundred  or  more.  There  had  obviously  been 
no  small  amount  of  friendly  rivalry  to  influence  the 
splendid  manner  in  which  they  had  "  got  themselves 
up  "  for  this  occasion.  With  lanterns,  banners,  and 
illuminations,  devised  to  give  the  impression  of  a 
superiority  of  initiative,  so  to  say,  and  with  beating 
of  drums  and  much  shouting  and  repeating  of  sa- 
cred formulas,  they  came  tramping  on  in  a  succession 
quite  too  frequent  and  resistless  to  favour  the  speed 
of  parties  going  in  the  opposite  direction.  And, 
although  there  was  little  of  obvious  rudeness,  it  was 
plainly  good  policy  to  step  well  out  of  the  way, 
stand  still,  and  let  them  pass  by. 

But  all  things  have  an  end;  and  so  did,  although 
it  seemed  almost  endless,  the  muddy  and  thronged 
road  from  Ikegami  to  Omori  in  the  u  small  hours  " 
of  the  dark  morning  of  October  13,  1906. 

It  was  the  second  visit  to  the  monastery,  which 
occurred  more  than  a  month  later,  and  was  made 
on  invitation  to  a  luncheon  with  him  by  the  chief 


23o         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

abbot,  that  was  most  distinctive  and  informing. 
The  invitation  itself — so  our  host  assured  those 
who  conveyed  it — was  entirely  unique.  For,  although 
during  the  last  fifty  years  foreigners  who,  as  tour- 
ists, had  visited  the  monastery  at  their  own  instance, 
had  been  offered  refreshments,  no  other  foreigners 
had  ever  been  especially  invited  as  the  abbot's 
guests.  Three  of  the  same  four  Japanese  young  men 
who  had  formerly  accompanied  me  on  my  visit  to 
Ikegami  now  served  as  escort  and  companions. 
Although  it  was  past  the  middle  of  November  in 
what  had  been  an  unusually  cold  Autumn,  the  day 
was  warm  and  moist,  but  without  falling  rain,  as 
a  day  in  June.  The  fields  were  brilliant  in  colour- 
ing, with  the  ripened  rice  and  the  great  store  of 
young  and  green  vegetables;  while  the  sides  of 
the  hills  were  aglow  with  the  red  and  yellow  flame 
of  the  maples,  made  the  more  splendid  by  the  dark 
foliage  of  the  cryptomerias  and  the  pines.  Large 
crops  of  daikon,  lettuce,  oinions,  Brussels-sprouts, 
and  other  eatables,  gave  promise  of  plenty  for  the 
dwellers  in  the  humble  homes  beside  the  way.  It 
was  a  good  day  to  be  alive,  to  have  no  work  to  do, 
and  to  escape  from  town. 

When  we  reached  Omori,  since  the  jinrikishas 
which  were  to  be  sent  from  the  monastery  had  not 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM    231 

yet  arrived,  we  waited  in  the  tea-house  opposite  the 
station,  where  we  were  treated  to  tea  and  a  drink 
composed  of  hot  water  with  an  infusion  of  salted 
cherry  blossoms.  The  road  to  Ikegami  was  muddy, 
as  it  was  on  the  night  when  we  had  tramped  it 
to  attend  ther  great  annual  festival  in  honour  of 
Nichiren;  but  how  different  its  appearance  in  the 
sober  daylight  from  the  impression  made  by  its 
lining  of  illuminated  bazaars  and  its  throngs  of 
thousands  carrying  lanterns  and  banners!  At  its 
end,  however,  we  climbed  the  same  flight  of  one 
hundred  stone  steps  and  entered  the  sacred  grove, 
now  scarcely  less  solemn  than  it  had  been  at  mid- 
night, but  lighted  enough  by  such  of  the  sun's  rays 
as  could  find  a  way  through  the  over-arching  crypto- 
merias  and  magles,  to  note  its  multitude  of  ancient 
and  more  recent  tombs  and  memorial  offerings  of 
stone  or  bronze  lanterns  and  monuments.  No  per- 
son, I  am  sure,  who  possesses  even  the  beginnings 
of  an  emotional  religious  nature,  can  easily  avoid 
having  feelings  of  mystery,  awe,  and  longings  for 
inward  peace,  come  over  him  on  entering  any  one 
of  the  most  typical  temple-groves  of  Japan. 

Near  the  priests-house  a  young  acolyte  met  us; 
and  under  his  escort  we  visited  the  sacred  library, 
the  shrine  which  covers  the  relics  of  Nichiren, — 


232         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

although  most  of  his  bones  were  taken  to  the  mon- 
astery he  had  founded  at  Minobu, — the  temple  and 
house  where  he  spent  his  last  days,  under  the  hill, 
and  the  well  from  which  the  saint  of  such  olden  time 
drew  the  water  to  make  his  tea.  Then  climbing 
the  hill  again  we  wandered  in  the  ancient  cemetery 
where  for  so  many  centuries  so  many  hundreds  of 
the  faithful  have  esteemed  it  a  last  privilege  to 
lay  themselves  to  rest.  The  tombs  of  some  of  the 
Tokugawa  family,  descendants  of  the  great  lyeyasu, 
who  have  been  patrons  of  the  sect,  are  among  the 
number  buried  here.  At  some  distance  from  the 
burial  ground  stands  the  monument  which  was 
erected  to  commemorate  the  ship-wrecked  American 
sailors  to  whose  bodies  the  hospitable  monks  of 
Ikegami  had  given  a  lodgment  under  the  trees  of 
the  consecrated  grove. 

On  returning  to  the  monastery  we  were  received 
with  great  distinction  by  the  temple  servants  and 
taken  almost  immediately  to  the  rooms  in  which 
luncheon  was  to  be  served.  These  rooms  looked 
out  through  shoji  on  a  beautiful  garden  of  gibbous- 
moon  shape,  lying  far  down  below  the  bank  on 
whose  edge  the  building  was  placed,  and  backed  by 
a  circular  row  of  pines,  cryptomerias,  and  maples, 
which  climbed  high  up  the  opposite  bank.  In  the 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM    233 

garden  was  a  lotus  pond  and  a  goodly  variety  of 
shrubs  and  flowers.  But  the  distinctive  thing  in 
the  garden,  as  well  as  in  the  neighbouring  vale  near 
the  house  where  Nichiren  spent  his  last  days,  and, 
elsewhere  in  the  grounds,  was  the  "  kaeri-sakura" 
or  "  second-time-blooming  cherry  tree."  It  minis- 
ters to  the  faith  and  affection  of  believers  to  know 
that  these  trees  customarily  bloom  for  the  second 
time  each  season  at  about  the  date  of  the  death  of 
the  founder  saint.  And,  indeed,  the  one  which  we 
had  just  seen  in  blossom,  in  the  valley,  was  an  off- 
shoot of  a  stock,  a  fragment  of  whose  decayed 
trunk  is  still  preserved,  and  which  may  easily  have 
been  in  blossom  a  century  ago  this  very  day. 

Our  entertainment  was  evidently  planned  to  be 
in  princely  fashion.  The  rooms  had  been  especially 
decorated;  and  the  finest  of  the  lacquer  trays  and 
bowls  and  the  best  of  the  porcelain,  such  as  were 
customarily  used  when  the  Tokugawas  were  the 
guests  of  the  abbot,  had  been  brought  out  of  the 
store-house  in  honour  of  the  occasion.  The  vener- 
able and  kindly  abbot  soon  appeared.  But  our 
host  instead  of  proceeding  at  once  to  luncheon, 
wished  in  person  to  show  us  the  garden,  the  cere- 
monial tea-house,  and  some  of  the  choicest  of  the 
temple's  curiosities  and  treasures.  Among  'all 


234         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

these  he  seemed  to  take  a  special  pride  and  pleasure 
in  the  so-called  "  turtle-room."  Here  was  a  collec- 
tion of  representations  of  this  animal,  of  varied 
sorts — dried  turtle-shells,  turtles  wrought  in  bronze, 
and  turtles  painted  on  kakemonos.  But  our  good 
abbot's  first  name  was  Hikame  (kamc  is  the  Japa- 
nese word  for  turtle), — a  sufficient  explanation  of 
his  peculiar  interest  in  the  collections  in  this  room. 

The  luncheon  was  in  purely  Japanese  style.  On 
the  cushions  on  the  floor,  at  the  head  of  one  room 
sat  the  abbot,  and  on  his  left,  so  that  they  might 
look  out  upon  the  garden,  were  the  two  principal 
guests;  while  in  the  second  room,  which  was,  how- 
ever, completely  opened  into  the  first,  were  the 
young  Japanese.  The  food  was  such  as  is  strictly 
suitable  for  a  Buddhist  monk, — wholly  of  fruit  and 
vegetables  and  nuts,  but  deliciously  prepared  with 
modifications  of  the  native  manner  which  had  been 
learned  by  the  cook,  who,  after  taking  a  course  in 
law  in  Japan,  had  spent  some  years  in  the  United 
States.  Before  sitting  down  to  the  meal  we  had 
exchanged  photographs,  and  had  secured  the  con- 
sent of  the  abbot  to  write  his  name  in  the  autograph- 
book  of  his  guests.  This  consent  turned  out  in  a 
manner  disastrous  in  its  effect  upon  the  part  played 
at  the  table  by  the  host.  For  the  holy  father  had 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM    235 

scarcely  begun  to  eat,  when  he  rose  somewhat  hastily 
and  disappeared,  not  to  return  until  the  luncheon 
was  nearly  over.  It  was  then  discovered  that  he 
had  been  inspired  with  a  poem  which  was  duly  pre- 
sented to  us,  beautifully  inscribed  upon  the  page 
that  had  been  designated  for  his  signature.  Now 
every  scholar  knows  that  it  is  quite  impossible  to 
render  the  delicate  suggestiveness  and  subtle  shades 
of  meaning  of  a  Japanese  poem  into  any  other 
language,  no  matter  how  expert  a  linguist  the  trans- 
lator may  have  become.  But  here  is  an  attempt  at 
giving  some  idea  of  what  the  Abbot  of  Ikegami 
wrote  in  the  autograph-book  of  his  guests,  about  noon 
of  November  17,  1906. 

To-ten  hachi-da  awogeba  ki-gi  tan. 

Ai  wo  haki  en  wo  nomuy  shim  iku-i  zo? 

Saku-ya  san-ko  ren-gaku  wo  yumemu. 

Kin-ryii  takaku  maki  koku-un  tobtt. 
11  In  Eastern  skies  Something  appears;  its  eight  sides 

raised  aloft; 
But  all  of  them  enveloped  thick  with  mist  and  smoke, 

drunk  in  and  out. 
Last  night,  at  watch  the  third,  I  dreamed  it  as  a 

mountain  lotus-shaped; 

And  shrouded  in  black  cloud  a  golden  dragon  flying 
high." 


236         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

Only  a  part,  however,  of  the  object  of  this  excur- 
sion had  been  accomplished  when  we  had  been  enter- 
tained at  the  Monastery  of  Ikegami.  I  particularly 
wished  to  become  acquainted  with  the  work  of  my 
pupil,  Mr.  Shibata,  who  after  his  return  from  his 
studies  in  this  country  had  succeeded  in  founding  a 
college  for  the  young  priests  of  the  Nichiren  sect 
in  such  manner  as  to  fit  them  for  usefulness  under 
conditions  belonging  to  the  moral  and  religious  de- 
velopment of  the  **  New  Japan."  Immediately 
after  the  lunch-eon,  accordingly,  we  begged  leave  to 
depart;  and  this  granted,  we  bade  good-bye  to  the 
kindly,  sincere,  and  simple-hearted  abbot  with  feel- 
ings of  respect  and  affection.  The  jinrikishas  took 
us  to  "  Nichiren  College  "  over  a  road,  which  for 
much  of  the  way  was  little  more  than  a  foot-path 
through  the  fields.  The  buildings  of  the  college 
are  seated  on  a  hill  about  a  half-mile  from  the  sta- 
tion at  Osaki  and  occupy  at  present  some  3500  tsubo 
(a  tsubo  is  6  ft.  by  6  ft.)  of  ground.  They  are  all 
new  and  well  adapted  to  their  collegiate  uses,  being 
constructed  in  modified  Japanese  style.  Since  the 
advertised  hour  of  the  address  had  already  passed, 
we  went  to  the  chapel  at  once ;  and  here  I  spoke  to 
about  two  hundred  young  priests  and  theological 
students  on  "  The  Personal  Qualifications  for  a 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM     237 

Minister  of  Religion."  The  address  was  in  no  im- 
portant respect  different  from  that  which  would  be 
suitable  on  the  same  subject  for  an  audience  of 
theological  students  in  England  or  the  United 
States;  nor  did  its  reception  and  appropriation  seem 
any  less  thorough  and  sincere. 

After  inspecting  the  work  in  drawing  and  water- 
colours  of  which — so  the  posted  notice  read — "  An 
Exhibition  is  given  in  honour  of  — • — ,"  Mrs.  Ladd 
returned  to  Tokyo;  but  I  remained  to  carry  out  my 
purpose  of  spending  a  full  day  and  night  among 
my  priestly  Buddhist  friends.  In  our  many  confi- 
dential talks  while  we  were  in  the  relations  of 
teacher  and  pupil,  the  latter  had  avowed  his  life- 
work  to  be  the  moral  reform  and  improved  mental 
culture  of  the  priesthood  of  his  sect.  It  had  then 
seemed  to  me  a  bold,  even  an  audacious  undertak- 
ing. But  seeming  audacity  was  quite  characteristic 
of  the  youth  of  all  those  very  men  who  now,  in 
middle  life  and  old-age,  are  holding  the  posts  of 
leadership  in  Japan  in  a  way  to  conserve  the  best 
results  of  the  earlier  period  of  more  rapid  change. 
Besides,  I  knew  well  that  my  pupil  had  the  neces- 
sary courage  and  devotion;  for  he  was  not  only  a 
priest  but  also  a  soldier,  and  had  been  decorated  for 
his  bravery  in  the  Chino- Japanese  war.  And  again, 


238         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

toward  the  close  of  the  Russo-Japanese  war,  when 
he  had  been  called  out  with  the  reserves,  he  had 
once  more  left  the  position  of  priestly  student  and 
teacher  to  take  his  place  at  arms  in  the  defence  of 
his  country. 

How  wholesome  and  thoroughly  educative  of 
their  whole  manhood  was  the  training  which  was 
being  given  to  these  young  temple  boys,  I  had  abun- 
dant reason  to  know  before  leaving  the  Nichiren 
College  at  Osaki.  After  tea  and  welcome-addresses 
by  one  of  the  teachers  and  two  of  the  pupils,  fol- 
lowed by  a  response  by  the  guest,  an  exhibition  of 
one  side  of  this  training  was  given  in  the  large 
dining-hall  of  the  school.  For  as  it  was  in  ancient 
Greece,  so  it  is  now  in  Japan;  arms  and  music 
must  not  be  neglected  in  the  preparation  to  serve  his 
country  of  the  modern  Buddhist  priest.  Sword- 
dancing — one  of  the  chants  which  accompanied  the 
action  being  Saigo's  celebrated  "  death  song " 
and  a  duet  performed  upon  a  flute  and  a  harp  con- 
structed by  the  performer  out  of  split  bamboo  and 
strings  of  silk,  followed  by  banzais  for  their  guest, 
concluded  the  entertainment. 

Of  the  nine  who  sat  down  to  dinner  that  evening 
in  a  private  room  belonging  to  another  building  of 
the  school,  four  besides  the  host  were  priests  of  the 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM    239 

Nichiren  sect.  They  constituted  the  body  of  the 
more  strictly  religious  or  theological  instructors; 
the  courses  in  literature  and  the  sciences  being 
taught  for  the  most  part  by  professors  from  the 
Imperial  University  or  from  the  private  university 
founded  by  Japan's  great  teacher  of  youth,  the  late 
Mr.  Fukuzawa.  Of  the  priests  the  most  conspic- 
uous and  communicative  was  proud  to  inform  me 
that  he  had  been  the  chaplain  of  General  Noghi  at 
the  siege  of  Port  Arthur.  With  reference  to  the 
criticisms  passed  at  the  time  upon  that  great  mili- 
tary leader  he  said  with  evident  emotion  that  Gen- 
eral Noghi  was  "  as  wise  as  he  was  undoubtedly 
brave."  This  same  priest  had  also  interesting 
stories  to  tell  of  his  experiences  in  China.  In  speak- 
ing of  the  ignorance  of  the  teachers  of  religion  in 
that  country  he  declared,  that  of  the  hundreds  of 
Taoist  priests  he  had  met,  the  vast  majority  could 
not  even  read  the  Chinese  ideographs  when  he 
wrote  them ;  and  none  of  the  numbers  he  had  known 
could  make  any  pretence  to  scholarship.  They  were 
quite  universally  ignorant,  superstitious,  and  physi- 
cally and  morally  filthy.  Among  the  Buddhist 
priests  in  China,  however,  the  case  was  somewhat 
better;  for  perhaps  three  or  four  in  every  ten 
could  make  some  pretence  of  education;  and  there 


24o         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

were  even  a  very  few  who  were  real  scholars.  But 
neither  Taoists  nor  Buddhists  had  much  influence 
for  good  over  the  people;  and  "priest,  priest,"  was 
a  cry  of  insult  with  which  to  follow  one.  As  to 
their  sincerity,  at  one  of  the  Taoist  temples  .hfe 
had  asked  for  meat  and  wine,  but  had  been  told 
that  none  could  be  had,  because  they  abstained  re- 
ligiously from  both.  But  when  he  replied  that  he 
had  no  scruples  against  either,  but  needed  them  for 
his  health  and  wished  to  pay  well  for  them,  both 
were  so  quickly  produced  he  knew  they  could  not 
have  come  from  far  away.  (I  may  remark  in  this 
connection  that  if  the  experiences  and  habits  of  the 
Chinese  in  Manchuria  resemble  at  all  closely  the 
experiences  and  customs  of  the  Koreans  in  their 
own  country,  the  unwillingness  to  furnish  accommo- 
dations to  travelling  strangers  is  caused  rather  by 
the  fear  of  having  them  requisitioned  without  pay 
than  to  any  scruples,  religious  or  otherwise,  as  to 
what  they  themselves  eat  and  drink  or  furnish 
to  others  for  such  purposes). 

The  same  subject  which  had  been  introduced  at 
the  priests-house,  on  occasion  of  the  all-night  festi- 
val at  Ikegami,  was  now  brought  forward  again. 
What  had  been  my  impressions  received  from  the 
spectacle  witnessed  at  that  time?  When  to  the  in- 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM    241 

quiry  I  made  a  similar  answer, — namely,  that  only 
a  portion  of  the  vast  crowd  seemed  to  be  sincere 
worshippers,  but  that  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
rude  young  men  in  the  procession,  who  appeared  to 
have  had  too  much  sake,  I  saw  no  immoral  or 
grossly  objectional  features — all  the  priests  ex- 
pressed agreement  with  my  views.  Where  the 
superstitions  connected  with  the'  celebration  were 
not  positively  harmful,  it  was  the  policy  of  the  re- 
forming and  progressive  party  of  the  sect  to  leave 
them  to  die  away  of  themselves  as  the  people  at 
large  became  more  enlightened. 

After  a  night  of  sound  sleep,  Japanese  fashion,  on 
the  floor  of  the  study  in  my  pupil's  pretty  new 
home,  we  rose  at  six  and  hastened  across  the  fields 
to  attend  the  morning  religious  services  in  the  chapel 
of  the  school.  'Here  for  a  full  half-hour,  or  more, 
what  had  every  appearance  of  serious  and  devout 
religious  worship  was  held  by  the  assembled 
teachers  and  pupils.  All  w;ere  neatly  dressed  in 
black  gowns;  no  evidences  of  having  shuffled  into 
unbrushed  garments,  with  toilets  only  half-done  or 
wholly  neglected,  were  anywhere  to  be  seen,  nor  was 
there  the  vacant  stare,  the  loud  whisper,  the  stolen 
glance  at  newspaper  or  text-book;  but  all  re- 
sponded to  the  sutras  and  intoned  the  appointed 


242         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

prayers  and  portions  of  the  Scriptures,  while  the 
time  was  accented  by  the  not  too  loud  beating  of  a 
musical  gong.  Certainly,  the  orderliness  and  appar- 
ent devotion  quite  exceeded  that  of  any  similar 
service  at  "  morning  prayers "  in  the  average 
American  college  or  university. 

A  brief  exhibition  of  judo,  (a  modified  form  of 
jiujitsu),  and  of  Japanese  fencing,  which  was 
carried  on  in  the  dining-room  while  the  head-master 
was  exchanging  his  priestly  for  his  military  dress, 
in  order  to  take  part  in  a  memorial  service  to  de- 
ceased soldiers,  at  which  General  Noghi  was 
expected  to  be  present,  terminated  my  entertainment 
at  this  Buddhist  school  for  the  training  of  temple 
boys.  As  we  left  the  crowd  of  them  who  had  ac- 
companied us  thus  far  on  the  way,  and  stood 
shouting  banzais  on  the  platform  of  the  station, 
there  was  no  room  for  doubting  the  heartiness  of 
their  friendly  feeling  toward  the  teacher  of  their 
teacher;  although  the  two,  while  sharing  many  of 
the  most  important  religious  views,  were  called  by 
names  belonging  to  religions  so  different  as  Chris- 
tianity and  Buddhism. 

The  impressions  from  these  two  visits  to  Ikegami 
regarding  the  changes  going  on  in  Buddhistic  circles 
in  Japan,  and  in  the  attitude  of  Buddhism  toward 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM    243 

Christianity,  were  amply  confirmed  by  subsequent 
experiences.  At  Kyoto,  the  ancient  capital  and  re- 
ligious centre  of  the  empire,  I  was  invited  by  the 
Dean  of  the  Theological  Seminary  connected  with 
the  Nishi  Honwangi  to  address  some  six  hundred 
young  priests  of  various  sects  on  the  same  topic  as 
that  on  which  the  address  was  given  at  the  Nichiren 
College  near  Ikegami.  It  should  be  explained  that 
this  temple  is  under  the  control  of  the  Shin-shu,  the 
most  numerous  and  probably  the  most  wealthy  sect 
in  the  Empire.  The  high  priest  of  this  sect  is  an 
hereditary  count  and  therefore  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Peers.  He  is  also  a  man  of  intelligence 
and  of  a  wide-spreading  interest  in  religion.  At 
the  time  of  my  visit,  indeed,  the  Count  was  absent 
on  a  missionary  tour  in  China.  This  address  also 
was  listened  to  with  the  same  respectful  attention 
by  the  several  hundred  Buddhist  priests  who  had 
gathered  at  the  temple  of  Nishi  Honwangi.  Here 
again  Mrs.  Ladd  and  I  were  made  the  recipients 
of  the  same  courteous  and  unique  hospitality.  Be- 
fore the  lecture  began,  we  were  entertained  in  the 
room  which  had  been  distinguished  for  all  time  in 
the  estimate  of  the  nation  by  the  fact  that  His 
Majesty  the  Emperor  held  within  its  walls  the 
first  public  reception  ever  granted  to  hk  subjects  by 


244         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

the  Mikado;  and  after  the  lecture  we  were 
further  honoured  by  being  the  first  outsiders  ever 
invited  to  a  meal  with  the  temple  officers  within  one 
of  the  temple  apartments. 

Later  on  at  Nagoya,  further  evidence  was 
afforded  of  the  important  fact  that  the  old-time 
religious  barriers  are  broken  down  or  are  being  over- 
ridden, wherever  the  enlightenment  and  moral  wel- 
fare of  the  people  seem  likely  to  be  best  served  in 
this  way.  Now  Nagoya  has  hitherto  been  con- 
sidered one  of  the  most  conservative  and  even  big- 
oted Buddhist  centres  in  all  Japan.  Yet  a  committee 
composed  of  Buddhists  and  of  members  of  the 
Young  M-en's  Christian  Association  united  in  arrange- 
ments for  a  course  of  lectures  on  education  and 
ethics.  This  was  remarked  upon  as  the  first  instance 
of  anything  of  the  sort  in  the  history  of  the  city. 

When  we  seek  for  the  causes  which  have  operated 
to  bring  about  these  important  and  hopeful  changes 
in  the  temper  and  practises  of  the  Buddhism  which 
is  fast  gaining  currency  and  favour  in  Japan,  we 
are  impressed  with  the  belief  that  the  greatest  of 
them  is  the  introduction  of  Christianity  itself. 
This  influence  is  obvious  in  the  following  three  essen- 
tial ways.  Christian  conceptions  and  doctrines  are 
modifying  the  tenets  of  the  leading  Buddhistic 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM    245 

thinkers  in  Japan.  As  I  listened  for  several  hours 
to  his  exposition  of  his  conception  of  the  Divine 
Being,  the  divine  manner  of  self-revelation,  and  of 
his  thoughts  about  the  relations  of  God  and  man, 
by  one  of  the  most  notable  theologians  of  the  Shin 
Shu  (the  sect  which  I  have  already  spoken  of  as 
the  most  popular  in  Japan),  I  could  easily  imagine 
that  the  exponent  was  one  of  the  Alexandrine 
Church-Fathers,  Origen  or  Clement,  discoursing  of 
God  the  Unrevealed  and  of  the  Logos  who  was 
with  God  and  yet  who  became  man.  But  Bud- 
dhism is  also  giving  much  more  attention  than  for- 
merly to  raising  the  moral  standards  of  both  priests 
and  people.  It  is  sharing  in  the  spirit  of  ethical 
quickening  and  revival  which  is  so  important  an 
element  of  the  work  of  Christian  missions  abroad, 
but  which  is  alas!  so  woefully  neglected  in  the  so- 
called  Christian  nations  at  home.  Japanese  Bud- 
dhism is  feeling  now  much  more  than  formerly  the 
obligation  of  any  religion  which  asks  the  adherence 
and  support  of  the  people,  to  help  the  people,  in  a 
genuine  and  forceful  way,  to  a  nobler  and  better 
way  of  living.  Hitherto  in  Japan  it  has  been  that 
peculiar  development  of  Confucian  ethics  called 
Bushido,  which  has  embodied  and  cultivated  the 
nobler  moral  ideals.  Religion,  at  least  in  the  form 


246         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

which  Buddhism  has  taken  in  Japan,  has  had  little  to 
do  with  inspiring  and  guiding  men  in  the  life  which 
is  better  and  best,  here  and  now.  But  as  its  super- 
stitions with  regard  to  the  future  are  falling  away 
and  are  ceasing  practically  to  influence  the  body  of 
the  people,  there-  are  some  gratifying  signs  that  its 
influence  upon  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  present 
is  becoming  purer  and  stronger. 

That  Buddhism  is  improving  its  means  of  edu- 
cating its  followers,  and  is  feeling  powerfully  the 
quickening  of  the  national  pulse,  due  to  the  advanc- 
ing strides  in  educational  development,  is  obvious 
enough  to  any  one  able  to  compare  its  condition  to- 
day with  its  condition  not  more  than  a  score  of 
years  ago.  There  are,  of  course,  in  the  ranks  of 
all  the  Buddhist  sects  leaders  who  are  ready  to  cry 
out  against  heresies  and  the  mischief  of  changes 
concealed  under  the  guise  of  reforms.  The  multi- 
tudes of  believers  are  still  far  below  the  desirable 
standard  of  either  intelligence  in  religious  matters, 
or  of  morals  as  controlled  by  religious  motives. 
But  the  old  days  of  stagnation  and  decay  seem  to 
be  passing  away;  and  the  outlook  now  is  that  the 
foreign  religion,  instead  of  speedily  destroying  the 
older  native  religion,  will  have  helped  it  to  assume 
a  new  and  more  vigorous  and  better  form  of  life. 


IKEGAMI    AND    BUDDHISM    247 

As  the  period  of  more  bitter  conflict  and  mutual 
denunciation  gives  way  to  a  period  of  more  respectful 
and  friendly,  and  even  co-operative  attitude  in  ad- 
vancing the  welfare  of  the  nation,  the  future  of 
both  Buddhism  and  Christianity  in  Japan  affords 
a  problem  of  more  complicated  and  doubtful  char- 
acter. The  nation  is  awakening  to  its  need  of 
morals  and  religion, — in  addition  to  a  modern  army 
and  navy,  and  to  an  equipment  for  teaching  and  put- 
ting to  practical  uses,  the  physical  sciences, — as 
never  before.  The  awakening  is  accompanied 
,  there,  as  elsewhere  in  the  modern  world,  by  a  thirst 
for  reality.  Whatever  can  satisfy  this  thirst,  how- 
ever named,  will  find  acceptance  and  claim  the 
allegiance  of  both  the  thoughtful  and  the  multitudes 
of  the  common  people;  for  in  Japan,  as  elsewhere 
in  the  modern  world,  men  are  not  easily  satisfied 
or  permanently  satisfied  with  mere  names. 


CHAPTER    X 

HIKONE  AND  ITS  PATRIOT  MARTYR 

AMONG  the  feudal  towns  of  Japan  which  can  boast 
of  a  fine  castle  still  standing,  and  of  an  illustrious 
lord  as  its  former  occupant,  there  are  few  that  can 
rival  Hikone.  Picturesquely  seated  on  a  wooded 
hill  close  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Biwa,  with  the  blue 
waters  and  almost  equally  blue  surrounding  moun- 
tains in  full  sight,  the  castle  enjoys  the  advantages 
of  strength  combined  with  beauty;  while  the  lords 
of  the  castle  are  descended  from  a  very  ancient 
family,  which  was  awarded  its  territory  by  the 
great  lyeyasu,  the  founder  of  the  Tokugawa  Sho- 
gunate,  in  return  for  the  faithful  services  of  their 
ancestor,  Naomasa,  in  bringing  the  whole  land 
under  the  Tokugawa  rule.  They  therefore  be- 
longed to  the  rank  of  the  Fudal  Daimio,  or  Retainer 
Barons,  from  whom  alone  the  Roju,  or  Senators, 
and  other  officers  of  the  first  class  could  be  ap- 
pointed. Of  these  lords  of  Hikone  much  the  most 
distinguished  was  Naosuke,  who  signed  the  treaty 
with  the  United  States  negotiated  in  1857  and 
1858.  And  yet,  so  strange  are  the  vicissitudes  of 

248 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR      249 

history,  and  so  influential  the  merely  incidental  oc- 
currences in  human  affairs,  that  only  a  chance  visit 
of  the  Mikado  saved  this  fine  feudal  castle  from 
the  "  general  ruin  of  such  buildings  which  accom- 
panied the  mania  for  all  things  European  and 
the  contempt  of  their  national  antiquities,  whereby 
the  Japanese  were  actuated  during  the  past  two  dec- 
ades of  the  present  regime."  Nor  was  it  until  re- 
cent years  that  Baron  li  Naosuke's  memory  has 
been  rescued  from  the  charge  of  being  a  traitor  to 
his  country  and  a  disobedient  subject  of  its  Em- 
peror, and  elevated  to  a  place  of  distinction  and 
reverence,  almost  amounting  to  worship,  as  a  clear- 
sighted and  far-seeing  statesman  and  patriot. 

However  we  may  regard  the  unreasonableness  of 
either  of  these  two  extreme  views  of  Naosuke's 
character,  one  thing  seems  clear.  In  respect  to  the 
laying  of  foundations  for  friendly  relations  between 
the  United  States  and  Japan,  we  owe  more  to  this 
man  than  to  any  other  single  Japanese.  No  one  can 
tell  what  further  delays  and  resulting  irritation,  and 
•even  accession  of  blood-shed,  might  have  taken 
place  in  his  time  had  it  not  been  for  his  courageous 
and  firm  position  toward  the  difficult  problem  of 
admitting  foreigners  to  trade  and  to  reside  within 
selected  treaty-ports  of  Japan.  This  position  cost 


250         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

him  his  life.  For  a  generation,  or  more,  it  also 
cost  him  what  every  true  Japanese  values  far  more 
highly  than  life;  it  cost  the  reputation  of  being 
loyal  to  his  sovereign  and  faithful  to  his  country's 
cause.  Yet  not  five  Americans  in  a  million,  it  is 
likely,  ever  heard  the  name  of  Baron  li  Kamon-no- 
Kami,  who  as  Tairo,  or  military  dictator,  shared 
the  responsibility  and  should  share  the  fame  of  our 
now  celebrated  citizen,  then  Consul  General  at 
Shimoda,  Townsend  Harris.  My  purpose,  there- 
fore, is  two-fold :  I  would  gladly  "  have  the  honour 
to  introduce  "  li  Naosuke  to  a  larger  audience  of 
my  own  countrymen;  and  by  telling  the  story  of  an 
exceedingly  interesting  visit  to  Hikone,  I  would 
equally  gladly  introduce  to  the  same  audience  cer- 
tain ones  of  the  great  multitude  of  Japanese  who 
still  retain  the  knightly  courtesy,  intelligence  and 
high  standards  of  living — though  in  their  own  way 
— which  characterised  the  feudal  towns  of  the  "  Old 
Japan, "  now  so  rapidly  passing  away. 

Baron  li  Naosuke,  better  known  in  foreign  an- 
nals as  li  Kamon-no-Kami,  was  his  father's  four- 
teenth son.  He  was  born  November  30,  1815. 
The  father  was  the  thirteenth  feudal  lord  from 
that  Naomasa  who  received  his  fief  from  the  great 
lyeyasu.  Since  the  law  of  primogeniture — the  only 
exceptions  being  cases  of  insanity  or  bodily  defect 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR       251 

— was  enforced  throughout  the  Empire,  the  early 
chances  that  Naosuke  would  ever  become  the  head 
of  the  family  and  lord  of  Hikone,  seemed  small  in- 
deed. But  according  to  the  usage  of  the  li  clan, 
all  the  sons  except  the  eldest  were  either  given  as 
adopted  sons  to  other  barons,  or  were  made  pen- 
sioned retainers  of  their  older  brother.  All  his 
brothers,  except  the  eldest,  had  by  adoption  become 
the  lords  of  their  respective  clans.  But  from  the 
age  of  seventeen  onward,  Naosuke  was  given  a 
modest  pension  and  placed  in  a  private  residence. 
He  thus  enjoyed  years  of  opportunity  for  training 
in  arms,  literature,  and  reflective  study,  apart  from 
the  corrupting  influences  of  court  life  and  the  mis- 
leading temptations  to  the  exercise  of  unrestricted 
authority — both  of  which  are  so  injurious  to  the 
character  of  youth.  Moreover,  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  common  people.  That  was  also 
true  of  him,  which  has  been  true  of  so  many  of  the 
great  men  of  Japan  down  to  the  present  time.  He 
made  his  friend  and  counsellor  of  a  man  proficient 
in  the  military  and  literary  education  of  the  day. 
And,  indeed,  it  has  been  the  great  teachers  who, 
more  than  any  other  class,  through  the  shaping  of 
character  in  their  pupils,  have  influenced  mankind 
to  their  good.  It  was  Nakagawa  Rokuro  who 
showed  to  Naosuke,  when  a  young  man,  the  impos- 


252         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

sibility  of  the  further  exclusion  of  Japan  from  for- 
eign intercourse.  It  was  he  also  who  "  influenced 
the  future  Tairo  to  make  a  bold  departure  from  the 
old  traditions  "  of  the  country. 

On  the  death,  without  male  issue,  of  his  oldest 
brother,  Naosuke  was  declared  heir-apparent  of  the 
Hikone  Baronetcy.  And  on  Christmas  day  of 
1850  he  was  publicly  authorised  by  the  Shogunate 
to  assume  the  lordly  title  of  Kamon-no-Kami.  It 
is  chiefly  through  the  conduct  of  the  man  when,  less 
than  a  decade  later,  he  came  to  the  position  which 
was  at  the  same  time  the  most  responsible,  difficult 
and  honourable  but  dangerous  of  all  possible  ap- 
pointments in  "  Old  Japan,"  that  the  character  of 
Baron  li  must  be  judged.  On  the  side  of  senti- 
ment— and  only  when  approached  from  this  side 
can  one  properly  appreciate  the  typical  knightly 
character  of  Japanese  feudalism — we  may  judge  his 
patriotism  by  this  poem  from  his  own  hand: 

Omi  no  mi  kishi  utsu  nami  no  iku  tabirao, 
Miyo  ni  kokoro  wo  kudaki  nuru  kana; 

or  as  freely  translated  by  Dr.  Griifis: — - 

"  As  beats  the  ceaseless  wave  on  Omi's  strand 
So  breaks  my  heart  for  our  beloved  land." 

(Omi  is  the  poetical  appellation  of  Lake  Biwa,  on 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR      253 

which  the  feudal  castle  of  the  lords  of  Hikone  has 
already  been  said  to  be  situated.)  How  the  sin- 
cerity of  this  sentiment  may  be  reconciled  with  the 
act  which  for  an  entire  generation  caused  the  baron 
to  be  stigmatised  a  traitor  is  made  clear  through  the 
following  story  told  by  the  great  Okubo.  In  the 
troubled  year  of  1858,  the  Viscount,  just  before 
starting  on  an  official  errand  to  the  Imperial  Court 
at  Kyoto,  called  on  Baron  li,  who  was  then  chief  in 
command  under  the  Shogun,  to  inform  him  of  his 
expected  departure  on  the  morrow.  He  had  em- 
bodied his  own  views  regarding  the  vexed  question 
of  foreign  affairs,  on  his  "  pocket  paper,"  in  the 
form  of  a  poem.  This  paper  the  Viscount  handed 
to  the  Baron  and  asked  him  whether  his  views  were 
the  same  as  those  of  the  poem.  Having  carefully 
read  it  li  approved  and  instructed  Okubo  to  act  up 
to  the  spirit  of  the  poem,  which  reads: 

"  However  numerous  and  diversified  the  nations 
of  the  earth  may  be,  the  God  who  binds  them  to- 
gether can  never  be  more  than  one." 

Whatever  differences  of  view  prevailed,  between 
his  political  supporters  and  his  political  enemies,  as 
to  the  purity  of  Naosuke's  patriotic  sentiments, 
there  was  little  opportunity  for  difference  as  to  cer- 
tain other  important  elements  of  his  character.  He 


254         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

had  conspicuously  the  qualities  needed  for  taking  a 
position  of  dictatorial  command  in  times  of  turbu- 
lence and  extreme  emergency.  Serious  in  purpose, 
but  slow  in  making  up  his  mind,  he  had  undaunted 
firmness  in  carrying  out  his  plans,  such  that  "  no 
amount  of  difficulties  would  make  him  falter  or  find 
him  irresolute.1' 

The  burning  question  of  foreign  intercourse 
which  the  coming  of  Commodore  Perry  had  forced 
upon  the  Shogunate  in  1853,  nad  afterward  been 
referred  to  the  barons  of  the  land.  They  favoured 
exclusion  by  a  large  majority;  and  some  of  them 
were  ready  to  enforce  it  at  the  expense  of  a  foreign 
war.  But  the  recent  experience  of  China  at  the 
hands  of  the  allied  forces  was  beginning  to  teach 
the  Far  East  that  lesson  of  preparedness  by  foreign 
and  modern  education  which  Japan  has  since  so 
thoroughly  learned;  and  to  the  fuller  magnitude  of 
which  China  herself  is  just  awakening.  To  take 
the  extreme  position  of  complete  and  final  resistance 
to  the  demands  of  the  foreign  forces  seemed  obvi- 
ously to  court  speedy  and  inevitable  ruin  for  the 
country  at  large.  Yet  none  of  the  barons,  except 
the  Baron  of  Hikone,  had  a  plan  to  propose  by 
which  to  exclude  alike  the  peaceful  foreigner  come 
to  trade  and  the  armed  foreigner  come  to  enforce 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR      255 

his  country's  demand  for  peaceful  intercourse  by 
the  use  of  warlike  means. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  Naosuke  answered 
the  question  of  the  Shogunate  in  a  manner  to  indi- 
cate the  consistent  policy  of  his  country  from  1853 
down  to  the  present  time.  He  did  not,  it  is  prob- 
able, love  or  admire  the  personality  of  the  foreign 
invader  more  than  did  his  brother  barons;  or  more 
than  does  the  average  Chinese  official  at  the  present 
time.  On  consulting  with  his  own  retainers,  he 
found  the  "  learned  Nakagawa  "  the  sole  supporter 
of  his  views.  All  the  clan,  with  the  exception  of 
this  teacher  and  scholar,  favoured  exclusion  at  any 
cost.  "  The  frog  in  the  well  knows  not  the  great 
ocean,"  says  the  Japanese  proverb.  And  as  to  the 
Japanese  people,  who  at  that  time  were  kept  "  in 
utter  ignorance  of  things  outside  of  their  own  coun- 
try," Count  (now  Prince)  Yamagata  said  in  1887, 
with  reference  to  the  superior  foresight  of  Baron 
li:  "Their  condition  was  like  that  of  a  frog  in  a 
well." 

In  spite  of  the  almost  complete  loneliness  of  his 
position  among  the  barons  of  the  first  rank,  Nao- 
suke advised  the  Shogunate  that  the  tendencies  of 
the  times  made  it  impossible  longer  to  enforce  the 
traditional  exclusiveness  of  Japan.  But  he  also — 


256         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

and  this  is  most  significant  of  his  far-sighted  views 
— advised  the  repeal  of  the  law,  issued  early  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  which  prohibited  the  building 
of  vessels  large  enough  for  foreign  trade;  and  this 
advice  he  coupled  with  the  proposal  that  Japan 
should  build  navies  for  the  protection,  in  future,  of 
her  own  coasts.  "  Thus  prepared,'*  he  writes,  "  the 
country  will  be  free  from  the  menaces  and  threat- 
enings  of  foreign  powers,  and  will  be  able  to  uphold 
the  national  principle  and  polity  at  any  time." 

The  division  of  opinion,  and  the  bloody  strifes  of 
political  parties,  in  Japan,  over  the  question  of  ex- 
clusion were  not  settled  by  the  Convention  for  the 
relief  of  foreign  ships  and  sailors  which  followed 
upon  the  return  of  the  warships  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  other  foreign  countries,  in  1854. 
Quite  the  contrary  was  the  truth.  When  Mr. 
Townsend  Harris  arrived  as  Consul  General  in 
1856,  and  began  to  press  the  question  of  foreign 
trade  and  residence  in  a  more  definite  form,  the 
party  favouring  exclusion  was  stronger,  more  bitter, 
and  more  extreme  than  before.  In  their  complete 
ignorance  of  the  very  nature  of  a  commercial 
treaty,  the  rulers  of  Japan  quite  generally  mistook 
the  American  demand  to  open  Kanagawa,  Yedo, 
Osaka,  Hiogo,  and  Niigata  for  an  extensive  scheme 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR       257 

of  territorial  aggression.  This  they  were,  of 
course,  ready  to  resist  to  their  own  death  and  to  the 
ruin  of  the  country.  When  the  senators  prepared  a 
memorial  to  the  Imperial  Cabinet,  stating  their  dif- 
ficulty and  the  necessity  of  conforming  to  the  for- 
eign demand,  and  sent  it  to  the  Imperial  Capital  by 
the  hand  of  their  president,  Baron  Hotta,  they  were 
therefore  instructed  to  delay,  and  to  consult  further 
with  the  ToTcugawa  Family  and  with  the  Barons  of 
the  land,  before  again  even  venturing  to  refer  the 
matter  to  the  Government  at  Kyoto.  These  in- 
structions were,  under  the  circumstances,  equiva- 
lent to  a  flat  and  most  dangerous  refusal  to  allow 
the  opening  of  the  country  at  all. 

It  has  not  been  generally  recognised  in  his  own 
country,  how  extremely  important  and  yet  how  diffi- 
cult was  the  position  of  Mr.  Townsend  Harris  dur- 
ing the  years,  1857-1858.  Nor  has  he,  in  my  judg- 
ment, been  awarded  his  full  relative  share  of  credit 
for  laying  in  friendly  foundations  the  subsequent 
commercial  and  other  forms  of  intercourse  between 
the  United  States  and  Japan.  Mr.  Harris'  task 
was  in  truth  larger  and  more  complicated  than  that 
of  Commodore  Perry.  The  factors  of  Japanese 
politics  opposed  to  its  accomplishment  were  more 
manifold  and  vehement.  Moreover,  the  question 


258         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

of  foreign  intercourse  was  then  complicated  by  two 
other  questions  of  the  most  portentous  magnitude 
for  the  internal  politics  and  political  development 
of  Japan.  These  were,  the  question  of  who  should 
be  the  heir-apparent  to  the  then  ruling  Shogun;  and 
the  yet  more  important,  and  even  supremely  im- 
portant question  of  how  the  Shogunate  should  in 
the  future  stand  related  to  the  virtual — and  not 
merely  nominal — supremacy  of  the  Imperial  House. 
The  opposition  on  both  these  questions  was  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  the  opposition  to  permitting 
foreign  trade  and  residence  in  the  land.  If  then 
Commodore  Perry  deserves  the  gratitude  of  all  for 
making  the  first  approaches,  in  a  way  without  seri- 
ous disruption  and  lasting  hatred,  to  begin  the  diffi- 
cult task  of  opening  Japan,  Townsend  Harris  cer- 
tainly deserves  no  less  gratitude  for  enlarging  and 
shaping  into  more  permanent  form  the  same 
"opening,"  while  quite  as  skilfully  and  effectively 
avoiding  the  exasperation  of  similar  and  even  greater 
political  evils. 

His  many  embarrassments  forced  upon  the  some- 
what too  timid  and  hesitating  Shogun  the  necessity 
of  selecting  some  one  man  upon  whom  the  responsi- 
bility and  the  authority  for  decisive  action  could  be 
confidently  reposed*  Seeing  this  man  in  the  person 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR       259 

only  of  II  Kamon-no-Kami,  Lord  of  Hikone,  he  ap- 
pointed him  to  the  position  of  Tairo.  Now,  this 
position  of  Tairo,  or  "  Great  Elder,"  which  may  be 
paraphrased  by  "  President-Senator,"  was  one  of 
virtual  dictatorship.  Only  the  Shogun,  who  ap- 
pointed him,  could  remove  the  Tairo  or  legally  re- 
sist his  demands.  Naosuke  was  the  last  to  hold 
this  office;  for  fortunately  for  Japan  the  Shogunate 
itself  soon  came  to  an  end;  but  he  will  be  known  in 
history  as  Go-Tairo, — the  dictator  especially  to  be 
honoured,  because  he  was  bold,  clear-sighted,  and 
ready  to  die  in  his  country's  behalf.  On  June  5, 
1858,  Baron  li  was  installed  in  the  position  which 
gave  him  the  power  to  conclude  the  treaty,  and 
which  at  the  same  time  made  him  responsible  for  its 
consequences  of  weal  or  woe,  to  individuals  and  to 
the  entire  nation, — even  to  the  world  at  large.  In 
this  important  negotiation  the  Japanese  Baron  Nao- 
suke, and  the  American  gentleman,  Harris,  were 
henceforth  the  chief  actors. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  recite  in  detail  the  his- 
tory of  the  negotiations  of  1858,  or  of  the  difficul- 
ties and  risks  which  the  Tairo  had  to  face  in  his 
conduct  of  them.  While  the  Mikado's  sanction 
for  concluding  the  treaty  with  Mr.  Harris  was 
still  anxiously  awaited,  two  American  men-of-war 


26o         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

arrived  at  Shimoda;  and  a  few  days  later  these 
were  followed  by  Russian  war-ships  and  by  the 
English  and  French  squadrons  which  had  so  re- 
cently been  victorious  in  their  war  with  China.  It 
was  by  such  arguments  that  America  and  Europe 
clinched  the  consent  of  reluctant  Japan  to  admit 
them  to  trade  and  to  reside  within  her  boundaries ! 
It  seemed  plain  enough  now  that  the  Yedo  Gov- 
ernment could  not  longer  wait  for  permission  from 
the  Imperial  Government  to  abandon  its  policy  of 
exclusion.  Two  of  its  members,  Inouye  and  Iwase, 
were  forthwith  sent  to  confer  with  the  Consul  Gen- 
eral at  Shimoda.  When  Mr.  Harris  had  pointed 
out  the  impossibility  of  continuing  the  policy  of  ex- 
clusion, the  dangers  of  adhering  obstinately  to  the 
traditions  of  the  past,  and  had  assured  them  of 
America's  friendly  intervention  to  secure  favour- 
able terms  with  the  other  powers  of  the  West,  the 
commissioners  returned  to  Yedo  to  report.  But 
still  the  opposing  party  grew;  and  still  the  Imperial 
Government  delayed  its  consent.  Meantime  the 
bitterness  against  Baron  II  was  increased  by  the  fail- 
ure of  his  enemies  to  secure  the  succession  to  the 
Shogunate  for  their  favoured  candidate.  None  the 
less,  the  Tairo  took  upon  himself  the  responsibility 
of  despatching  the  same  men  with  authority  to  sign 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR       261 

that  Convention  between  the  United  States  and 
Japan  which,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  bore  the 
name  of  the  "  Temporary  Kanagawa  Treaty  "  and 
was  subject  to  revision  after  a  specified  term  of 
years,  remained  unchanged  until  as  late  as  1895. 
This  important  event  bore  date  of  a  little  more  than 
a  half-century  ago — namely,  July  29,  1858. 

It  is  foreign  to  my  purpose  to  examine  the 
charges,  urged  against  li  Kamon-no-Kami,  of  diso- 
bedience to  the  Imperial  Government  and  of  trait- 
orous conduct  toward  his  country.  The  latter 
charge  has  long  since  been  withdrawn;  and  for  this 
has  been  substituted  the  praise  and  homage  due  to 
the  patriot  who  is  able  to  oppose  public  opinion,  to 
stand  alone,  to  be  "  hated  even  by  his  relatives," 
and  to  sacrifice  his  life  in  his  country's  behalf. 
That  the  Tairo  did  not  obey  the  Imperial  command 
to  submit  again  the  question  of  exclusion  to  a  coun- 
cil of  the  Tokugawa  princes  and  the  Barons  of  the 
land  is  indeed  true.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  to  be 
said  that  the  Imperial  Government,  by  not  forbid- 
ding the  Treaty,  had  thrown  back  upon  the  Shogun- 
ate  the  responsibility  for  deciding  this  grave  ques- 
tion; and  that  the  appearance  of  the  foreign  war- 
ships gave  no  further  opportunity,  in  wisdom,  for 
continuing  the  policy  of  procrastination  and  delay. 


262         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

The  hour  demanded  a  man  of  audacity,  of  clear 
vision  into  the  future,  and  of  willingness  to  bear  the 
full  weight  of  a  responsible  decision.  The  hour 
found  such  a  man  in  the  Japanese  Naosuke,  heredi- 
tary feudal  lord  of  Hikone,  but  by  providence  in 
the  position  of  Tairo,  or  military  dictator.  It  was 
fortunate,  indeed,  for  the  future  relations  of  the 
United  States  and  Japan,  and  for  the  entire  devel- 
opment of  the  Far  East  under  European  influences, 
that  an  American  of  such  patience,  kindliness,  tact- 
ful simplicity,  and  sincere  moral  and  religious  prin- 
ciple, met  at  the  very  critical  point  of  time  a  Japan- 
ese of  such  knightly  qualities  of  honour,  fearless- 
ness, and  self-centred  force  of  character.  This 
point  of  turning  for  two  political  hemispheres,  this 
pivot  on  which  swung  the  character  of  the  inter- 
course between  Far  East  and  Occident,  owes  more, 
I  venture  to  think,  to  Townsend  Harris  and  to  li 
Kamon-no-Kami  than  to  any  other  two  men. 

The  concluding  of  the  Treaty  did  not  allay  the 
excitement  of  the  country  over  the  intrusion  of  for- 
eigners, or  discourage  the  party  of  the  majority 
which  favoured  the  policy  of  either  risking  all  in  an 
immediate  appeal  to  arms,  or  of  continuing  the  ef- 
fort to  put  off  the  evil  day  by  a  policy  of  prevarica- 
tion and  temporising.  Less  than  a  fortnight  after 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR       263 

its  signing,  the  Shogun  became  suddenly  ill,  and 
four  days  later  he  died.  Two  days  before  his 
death,  the  three  English  ships  had  anchored  at 
Shinagawa,  a  suburb  of  the  capital  of  the  Shogun- 
ate;  while  the  Russians  had  invaded  the  city  of 
Yedo  itself  and  established  themselves  in  one  of  its 
Buddhist  temples.  Everything  was  now  in  confu- 
sion. The  influence  of  the  party  for  exclusion — 
forceful,  if  necessary — was  now  greatly  strength- 
ened among  the  Imperial  Councillors  at  Kyoto;  and 
intrigues  for  the  deposition  of  the  Tairo  and  even 
for  his  assassination  went  on  apace.  A  serious  and 
wide-spreading  rebellion  was  threatened.  The  re- 
sort of  the  Baron  of  Hikone  to  force  in  order  to 
crush  or  restrain  his  enemies  served,  as  a  natural 
and  inevitable  result,  to  combine  them  all  in  the  de- 
termination to  effect  his  overthrow — a  result  which 
his  opponents  suggested  he  should  forestall  by  com- 
mitting harakiri,  after  acknowledging  his  mistakes; 
and  which  his  friends  urged  him  to  prevent  by  re- 
signing his  office  at  Tairo. 

Since  li  Kamon-no-Kami  was  not  the  man  to  re- 
treat in  either  of  these  two  cowardly  ways,  he  was 
destined  to  perish  by  assassination.  On  March  25, 
1860,  one  of  the  five  annual  festivals  at  which  the 
princes  and  barons  of  the  land  were  in  duty  bound 


RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

to  present  themselves  at  the  Shogun's  Castle  to  of- 
fer congratulations,  the  procession  of  the  Tairo  left 
his  mansion  at  "  half-past  the  fifth  watch,'*  or  9 
o'clock  A.  M.  Near  the  "  Cherry-Field "  gate  of 
the  castle,  they  were  attacked  by  eighteen  armed 
men,  who  were  all,  except  one,  former  retainers  of 
the  Mito  Clan,  whose  princes  had  been  the  most 
powerful  enemy  of  Baron  li,  but  who  had  resigned 
from  the  clan,  and  become  ronin,  or  "wave-men," 
in  order  not  to  involve  in  their  crime  the  lord  of  the 
clan.  The  suddenness  of  the  attack,  and  the  fact 
that  the  defenders  were  impeded  by  the  covered 
swords  and  flowing  rain-coats  which  the  weather 
had  made  necessary,  gave  the  attacking  party  a  tem- 
porary advantage.  Baron  li  was  stabbed  several 
times  through  the  sides  of  his  palanquin,  so  that 
when  dragged  out  for  further  wounding  and  decap- 
itation, he  was  already  dead.  Thus  perished  the 
man  who  signed  the  treaty  with  Townsend  Harris, 
fifty  years  ago,  in  the  forty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

The  motives  of  the  two  parties — that  of  the  ma- 
jority who  favoured  exclusion  and  that  of  the 
minority  who  saw  the  opening  of  the  country  to  be 
inevitable — can  best  be  made  clear  by  stating  them 
in  the  language  of  each,  as  they  were  proclaimed 
officially  to  the  Japanese  of  that  day.  Fortunately, 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR       265 

we  are  able  to  do  this.  So  bitter  was  the  feeling 
against  their  feudal  lord,  even  after  his  death,  that 
it  seemed  necessary,  in  order  to  prevent  complete 
ruin  from  falling  upon  the  whole  Clan  of  Hikone, 
that  all  his  official  papers  and  records  should  be 
burned.  But  Viscount  Okubo,  at  no  inconsiderable 
danger  to  himself,  managed  "  to  save  the  precious 
documents  " ;  for,  said  he,  "  There  will  be  nothing 
to  prove  the  sincerity  and  unmixed  fidelity  of  Lord 
Naosuke,  if  the  papers  be  destroyed.  Whatever 
may  come  I  dare  not  destroy  them." 

From  one  of  these  papers  we  quote  the  following 
sentences  which  show  why  Baron  li  as  Tairo 
signed,  on  his  own  responsibility,  this  detested 
treaty  with  the  hated  and  dreaded  foreigners. 
'  The  question  of  foreign  intercourse,"  it  says,  "  is 
pregnant  with  serious  consequences.  The  reason 
why  the  treaty  was  concluded  with  the  United 
States  was  because  of  the  case  requiring  an  imme- 
diate answer.  The  English  and  French  Squad- 
rons, after  their  victory  over  China,  were  very  soon 
expected  to  our  coasts;  and  the  necessity  of  holding 
conferences  with  different  nations  at  the  same  time 
might  cause  confusion  from  which  little  else  than 
war  could  be  ,  expected.  These  foreigners  are  no 
longer  to  be  despised.  The  art  of  navigation,  their 


266         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

steam-vessels  and  their  military  and  naval  prepara- 
tions have  found  full  development  in  their  hands. 
A  war  with  them  might  result  in  temporary  victo- 
ries on  our  part;  but  when  our  country  should  come 
to  be  surrounded  by  their  combined  navies,  the 
whole  land  would  be  involved  in  consequences 
which  are  clearly  visible  in  China's  experience. 
.  .  .  Trying  this  policy  for  ten  or  twelve  years, 
and  making  full  preparation  for  protection  of  the 
country  during  that  period,  we  can  then  determine 
whether  to  close  up  or  open  the  country  to  foreign 
trade  and  residence.  .  .  .  If  it  were  only  one 
nation  with  which  we  had  to  deal,  it  would  be  much 
easier;  but  several  nations,  coming  at  this  time  with 
their  advanced  arts,  it  is  entirely  impossible  to  re- 
fuse their  requests  to  open  intercourse  with  our 
country.  The  tendency  of  the  times  makes  exclu- 
sion an  entire  impossibility." 

But  the  assassins,  on  their  part,  before  entering 
on  their  bloody  deed,  had  drawn  up  a  paper  which, 
as  signed  by  seventeen,  or  all  except  one  of  their 
number,  they  wished  to  have  go  down  to  posterity 
in  justification  of  their  course.  They,  too,  all  met 
death  either  on  the  spot,  or  subsequently  by  public 
execution,  for  their  crime  of  assassination.  "  While 
fully  aware,"  says  this  manifesto,  "  of  the  necessity 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR      267 

of  some  change  in  policy  since  the  coming  of  the 
Americans  to  Uraga,  it  is  entirely  against  the  inter- 
est of  the  country  and  a  shame  to  the  sacred  dignity 
of  the  land,  to  open  commercial  relations,  to  admit 
foreigners  into  the  castle,  to  conclude  a  treaty,  to 
abolish  the  established  custom  of  trampling  on  the 
picture  of  Christ,  to  permit  foreigners  to  build 
places  of  worship  of  their  evil  religion,  Christianity, 
and  to  allow  three  Foreign  Ministers  to  reside  in 
the  land.  Under  the  excuse  of  keeping  the  peace, 
too  much  compromise  has  been  made  at  the  sacri- 
fice of  national  honour.  Too  much  fear  has  been 
shown  in  regard  to  the  foreigners'  threatening.1* 

This  remarkable  paper  then  goes  on  to  charge  the 
Tairo,  Baron  li,  with  being  responsible  for  so  dis- 
honourable an  act  of  compromise.  He  has  as- 
sumed "  unbridled  power  " ;  he  has  proved  himself 
"  an  unpardonable  enemy  of  his  nation,"  a  "  wicked 
rebel."  '"  Therefore  we  have  consecrated  ourselves 
to  be  the  instruments  of  Heaven  to  punish  this 
wicked  man;  we  have  assumed  on  ourselves  the  duty 
of  putting  an  end  to  a  serious  evil  by  killing  this 
atrocious  autocrat."  The  assassins  then  go  on  to 
swear  before  Heaven  and  earth,  gods  and  men,  that 
their  act  was  motived  by  loyalty  to  the  Emperor, 
and  by  the  hope  to  see  the  national  glory  mani- 


268'        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

fested  in  the  expulsion  of  foreigners  from  the 
land. 

At  this  distance  of  half  a  century,  and  consider- 
ing the  spirit  of  the  former  age,  we  need  not  judge 
between  Naosuke  and  his  murderers  as  regards  the 
sincerity  of  their  patriotism.  But  as  to  which  of 
the  two  parties  followed  the  path  of  wisdom,  there 
can  be  no  manner  of  doubt.  Both  Japan  and  its 
foreign  invaders  still  owe  a  great  debt  of  gratitude 
and  a  tribute  of  wisdom,  to  Baron  li  Kamon-no- 
Kami.  While  over  all  our  clouded  judgment 
hangs  serene  the  truth  of  the  autograph  of  four 
Chinese  characters  with  which,  years  afterwards, 
the  Imperial  Prince  Kitashirakawa  honoured  the 
book  written  to  vindicate  the  Tairo:  "  Heaven's 
ordination  baffles  the  human." 

How  the  memory  of  its  former  feudal  lord  is 
cherished  in  Hikone,  and  how  his  spirit  still  sur- 
vives and  in  some  sort  dominates  its  citizens,  I  had 
occasion  to  know  during  two  days  of  early  Febru- 
ary, 1907.  The  little  city,  headed  by  Mr.  Tanaka, 
the  steward  of  the  present  Count  li,  by  letter  and 
then  by  a  personal  visit  from  the  Christian  pastor, 
Mr.  Sonoda,  had  urgently  invited  us  to  visit  them, 
with  the  promise  that  we  should  see  the  castle  and 
other  reminders  of  its  former  feudal  lord.  I,  on 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR      269 

my  part,  was  to  speak  to  them  on  education  and 
morality,  the  two  subjects  about  which  the  serious 
people  of  Japan  are  just  now  most  eager  to  hear. 
The  same  gentleman  who  had  been  the  medium  of 
the  invitation,  was  to  be  our  escort  from  Kyoto  to 
Hikone.  But  on  the  way,  although  the  wind  was 
piercing  and  light  snow  was  falling,  we  saw  again 
the  familiar  objects  of  interest  about  the  lower  end 
of  Lake  Biwa; — Miidera  Temple,  with  its  relics 
of  the  legendary  giant  Benkei,  such  as  the  bell 
which  he  carried  part  way  up  the  hill  and  then 
dropped  and  cracked,  and  the  huge  kettle  out  of 
which  he  ate  his  rice;  then  the  wonderful  pine-tree 
at  Karasaki,  the  sail  down  the  lake  and  under  the 
bridge  of  Seta;  and,  finally,  the  sights  of  Ishiyama. 

At  a  tea-house  near  the  station  here  we  were  met 
by  Mr.  Tanaka,  who  had  come  by  train  to  extend 
the  welcome  of  the  city  and  who  emphasised  this 
welcome  by  referring  to  the  interest  which  we,  as 
Americans,  in  common  with  all  our  countrymen, 
must  feel  in  the  place  that  had  been  the  residence 
of  the  great  Tairo.  For  had  not  he  "influenced 
the  Shogunate  to  open  the  country  to  the  United 
States,  and  lost  his  life  for  his  advanced  views?" 

As  the  train  conveyed  us  into  the  uplands,  the 
snow  began  to  fall  more  heavily  until  it  lay  nearly 


27o         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

a  foot  de'ep  upon  the  plain  and  wooded  hill, 
crowned  with  its  castle,  of  the  ancient  feudal  town. 
Just  as  the  setting  sun  was  making  the  mountains  and 
the  clouds  aglow  with  a  rose  colour,  as  warm  and 
rich  as  anything  to  be  seen  in  Switzerland,  we 
reached  the  station  of  Hikone,  and  were  at  once 
taken  into  its  waiting-room  to  receive  and  return 
greetings  of  some  thirty  of  the  principal  citizens 
who  had  come  out  to  welcome  the  city's  guests.  On 
account  of  the  deep  snow  it  was  a  jinrikisha  ride  of 
nearly  half  an  hour  to  the  place  where  we  were  to 
be  lodged — the  Raku-raku-tei,  just  beside  the  castle- 
moat,  under  its  hill,  and  almost  in  the  lake  itself. 
Here  a  beautiful  but  purely  Japanese  house,  which 
was  built  by  the  lord  of  the  castle  as  a  villa,  stands 
in  one  of  the  finest  gardens  of  all  Japan. 

The  fear  that  their  foreign  guests  would  not  be 
entirely  comfortable,  even  if  entertained  in  the  best 
Japanese  style,  made  it  difficult  for  us  at  first  to  dis- 
card or  neglect  the  accessories  especially  provided, 
and  disport  ourselves  as  though  we  were  really  cher- 
ishing, and  not  feigning,  the  wish  to  be  treated  by 
them  as  their  feudal  lord  would  have  treated  his 
friends  at  the  beginning  of  the  half  century  now 
gone  by.  In  the  end,  however,  we  succeeded  fairly 
well  in  the  effort  to  merge  ourselves,  and  our  mod- 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR      271 

ern  Western  habits  and  feelings,  in  the  thoughts, 
ways  and  emotions  of  the  so-called  "  Old  Japan." 

Flags  were  hung  over  the  quaint  Japanese  door- 
way of  the  villa;  and  the  manager,  the  landlord, 
and  all  the  servants,  were  in  proper  array  to  greet 
the  long  line  of  jinrikishas  which  were  escorting 
the  guests.  Our  shoes  removed,  we  were  ushered 
through  numerous  rooms  and  corridors,  made  at- 
tractive with  the  quiet  beauty  of  choice  screens  and 
the  finest  of  mats,  into  the  best  apartment  of  the 
house.  Here  bright  red  felt  had  been  spread  over 
the  mats;  a  tall  lacquer  hibachi,  daimyo  style,  stood 
in  the  middle  of  the  chamber;  and  large  lacquer  or 
brass  candlesticks,  with  fat  Hikone  candles  and 
wicks  nearly  a  half-inch  thick,  stood  on  either  side 
of  the  hibachi  and  in  each  of  the  corners  of  the 
room. 

Thus  far,  the  surroundings  were  well  fitted  to 
carry  our  imaginations  back  to  the  time  of  li  Ka- 
mon-no-Kami  himself.  But  there  were  two  articles 
of  the  furnishing  sure  to  cause  a  disillusionment. 
These  were  a  pair  of  large  arm-chairs,  arranged 
throne  fashion  behind  the  hibachi,  and  covered  with 
green  silk  cushions  (or  zabuton)  which  were  ex- 
pected to  contribute  both  to  our  comfort  and  to  our 
sense  of  personal  dignity,  while  we  were  "  officially 


272         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

receiving " — so  to  say.  Without  offending  our 
kind  hosts,  I  trust,  and  certainly  to  the  increase  of 
our  own  satisfaction,  we  begged  permission  to  slip 
off  from  our  elevated  position,  so  calculated  to  pro- 
duce the  feelings  of  social  stiffness  and  remoteness, 
and  sit,  in  as  nearly  polite  old-fashioned  native 
style  as  our  lack  of  physical  training  would  permit, 
upon  the  cushions  transferred  to  the  floor.  In  this 
way  when  our  callers,  who  included  such  truly  gen- 
tle men  and  ladies  as  the  Mayor  of  the  city  and  his 
wife,  the  steward  of  the  Count,  the  daughter  of  an 
ex-Mayor  of  Osaka,  Baron  Kimata,  the  venerable 
Doctor  Nakashima,  for  thirty  years  a  pillar  of  the 
church  and  a  prosperous  physician,  Mr.  Kitamura, 
whose  father  was  a  retainer  and  served  as  secretary 
of  the  Baroness  li,  and  others,  came  in,  knelt  upon 
the  floor  and  touched  their  heads  three  times  to  the 
mats,  we,  too,  could  return  their  salutations  with 
the  same  delightfully  elaborate  but  now  rapidly 
vanishing  attention  to  the  etiquette  of  playing  host 
and  guest. 

The  reception  over,  with  its  accompaniment  of 
tea  served  in  ceremonial  cups,  we  were  urged,  in 
spite  of  our  protest  that  we  had  had  dinner  upon 
the  train,  to  a  bountiful  feast.  This,  too,  was  of  a 
mixed  character;  part  of  it  taken  from  two  large 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR      273 

hampers  of  foreign  food  sent  on  from  our  hotel  in 
Kyoto,  and  part  of  it  fish  from  the  lake,  cooked  a  la 
Japonaise  and  served  on  pretty  shell-shaped  plates, 
rice  in  covered  bowls  manufactured  in  Hikone  in 
the  days  of  the  great  Baron,  and  other  native 
viands,  made  more  tempting  by  the  harmonious 
suggestions  of  the  dishes  in  which  they  were  served. 
Such  delicate  pleasures  of  suggestion,  also,  belong 
to  the  art  of  living  as  practiced  in  feudal  Japan. 
And  when,  notwithstanding  remonstrance,  the 
dishes  themselves  were  divided  between  guests  and 
hosts, — the  portion  of  the  latter  to  be  retained,  it 
was  explained,  as  "  memorabilia  of  the  honour  of 
being  permitted  to  serve,  etc.," — this,  too,  was  quite 
in  the  spirit  of  the  time  when  li  Kamon-no-Kami 
was  lord  of  Hikone. 

After  the  supper  we  were  led  to  the  large  audi- 
ence-hall of  the  former  villa,  where  all  the  shoji 
were  plain  gold-leaf  and  the  ceilings  chastely  .but 
beautifully  panelled;  here  we  were  fairly  compelled 
to  sit  in  the  throne-like  chairs  on  the  raised  alcove, 
which  was  in  feudal  times  reserved  exclusively  for  the 
lord  of  the  clan.  The  cold  made  the  combined  efforts 
at  heating  of  a  modern  oil-stove  at  the  back,  with  an- 
tique hibachi  on  either  hand,  by  no  means  ungrate- 
ful. Beside  each  of  the  guests  knelt  an  interpreter, 


274        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

who  was  to  announce  the  different  numbers  and  trans- 
late their  comments  on  the  music ;  while  all  the  hosts 
sat  ranged  along  the  other  side  of  the  hall,  native 
fashion  on  the  floor.  Thus  a  somewhat  weird  but 
vivid  and  interesting  picture,  reminiscent  of  the 
older  times,  was  made  by  this  large  and  dimly 
lighted  baronial  hall,  in  which  the  lord  of  Hikone 
may  well  enough  himself  have  listened  to  some  of 
the  same  music  which  was  played  for  us.  The  first 
number  on  the  programme  proved  to  be  a  selection  of 
the  oldest  style, of  Japanese  concerted  music;  it  was 
played  on  three  different  kinds  of  flute  by  three 
young  men,  all  dressed  in  dark  silk  kimonos  and  in 
head-dress  of  two  hundred  years  ago.  Then  two 
pretty  girls,  beautifully  gowned  and  with  faces  pow- 
dered and  lips  tinted  vermillion  and  gold, — the  an- 
cient manner  of  decoration  in  such  cases, — together 
with  their  teachers,  played  a  Spring  "  nocturne  "  on 
three  Kotos,  or  Japanese  harps.  Other  selections 
followed ;  and  the  concert  closed  with  a  queer  fugue- 
like  performance  on  Chinese  flutes — one  short  and 
the  other  a  full  yard  long,  but  both  gaily  decorated 
with  silken  cords  and  tassels. 

The  evening's  entertainment  over,  we  returned  to 
our  room,  which  had  now  been  converted  into  a 
bed-chamber  in  truly  royal  native  style.  Six  large 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR      275 

wadded  futons,  three  to  lie  upon  and  three  for  cov- 
ering, all  made  of  fine  silk,  had  been  laid  upon  the 
floor,  with  quilts  rolled  up  and  tied  together  for  pil- 
lows, and  lead  tanks  covered  with  a  soft  flannel  and 
filled  with  hot  water  to  secure  additional  warmth. 
For  the  thin  wooden  shutters  which  enclosed  the 
piazza  and  the  paper  shoji  within,  however  closely 
drawn,  could  not  serve  efficiently  to  keep  out  the 
cold,  snow-laden  wind.  It  was  part  of  the  stately 
fashion  with  which  everything  was  conducted,  to 
assure  us  that  all  the  bedding  was  quite  new  and 
had  never  been  used  before. 

In  the  morning,  when  the  room  had  been  again 
prepared  for  its  day-time  uses,  the  beauty  of  its 
screens  and  other  simple  furnishings,  painted  in 
raised  chrysanthemums  by  one  of  the  Kano  school, 
was  made  the  more  charming  by  the  light  reflected 
from  the  snow-covered  ground  and  cloudy  sky.  The 
garden  was  a  picture  such  as  can  be  seen  only  in 
Japan;  its  tiny  curved  stone-bridge  over  an  artificial 
pond,  the  dark  green  twisted  pines,  the  stately 
mountains  in  the  distance;  and  all  covered  with 
fresh-fallen  snow — a  landscape  made  dignified  by 
nature  and  exquisite  by  man. 

The  later  morning  hours  were  occupied  with  re- 
ceiving calls,  each  one  of  which  bore  some  fra- 


276         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

grance  of  the  memory  of  the  man  who  had,  as  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  his  retainers  firmly  believed, 
sacrificed  his  life  in  the  country's  cause.  For  still 
in  Hikone,  the  memory  of  li  Kamon-no-Kami,  and 
the  pride  in  him,  confer  a  certain  title  to  distinction 
upon  every  citizen  of  the  place.  And  not  only  this; 
but  we,  being  Americans  and  so  of  the  people  with 
whose  representative  their  feudal  lord  had  joined  him- 
self to  bring  about  a  period  of  peaceful  and  friendly 
intercourse  between  the  two  nations,  were  expected  to 
sympathise  with  them  in  this  feeling.  In  genuine 
old-fashioned  style,  many  of  these  visitors  brought 
with  them  some  gift.  Among  these  gifts  was  a 
small  bit  of  dainty  handiwork,  made  by  the  Baron- 
ess li  and  given  to  the  father  of  the  man  who  gave 
it  to  us,  in  recognition  of  his  services  as  her  secre- 
tary. It  was  the  sincerity  and  simple  dignity  of 
these  tokens  of  friendship  which  raised  their  bestowal 
above  all  suspicion  of  sinister  motive,  and  made  it 
easier  for  the  foreigners  to  receive  them  and  to 
transport  themselves  into  the  atmosphere  of  the 
"  Old  Japan." 

The  afternoon  of  this  day  was  set  aside  for  the 
lecture,  which  was  to  be  held  in  the  large  room  of 
one  of  the  city's  Primary-School  buildings.  On 
reaching  the  school  we  found  the  flags  of  both  coun- 


ALL  COVERED  WITH  FRESH  FALLEN  SNOW 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR      277 

tries — the  two  that  li  Kamon-no-Kami  and  Town- 
send  Harris  had  bound  together  by  Treaty,  a  half- 
century  ago — hung  over  the  door,  and  at  the  back  of 
the  platform  on  which  the  speaker  was  to  stand. 
But  before  he  could  begin,  the  guests  must  be  pre- 
sented to  yet  other  of  their  hosts,  who  also  came  to 
leave  in  their  hands  testimonials  of  their  pride  in 
li  Kamon-no-Kami  and  of  the  good-will  of  Hikone 
to  the  visitors  from  the  United  States. 

One  will  not  easily  find  elsewhere  a  more  intelli- 
gent and  serious  audience  than  the  500  who  sat 
upon  the  floor  of  the  school-room  in  the  castle-town 
of  the  patriot  Naosuke,  on  the  afternoon  of  Febru- 
ary 3,  1907.  One  will  probably  not  find  at  all, 
outside  of  Japan,  in  a  place  of  the  same  size,  so 
many  persons  to  listen  so  patiently  to  so  long  a  dis- 
course on  similar  themes.  For  the  talk  in  English 
and  its  interpretation  into  Japanese  required  more 
than  two  solid  hours.  Nor  could  this  time,  of  it- 
self, suffice.  There  must  also  be  elaborate  thanks 
returned  by  the  steward  of  the  present  Count,  in 
the  city's  name;  and  to  the  thanks  a  reply  by  the 
lecturer,  both  extended  to  a  proper  length.  For 
such  deliberateness  in  doing  what  it  is  thought 
worth  while  to  do  at  all,  is  also  characteristic  of 
the  time  when  II  Kamon-no-Kami  or  the  other  Jap- 


278         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

anese  Barons  discussed  with  Townsend  Harris 
every  point  af  the  Treaty,  during  the  months  so 
trying  to  the  patience  and  ingenuity  of  both  parties. 

The  lecture  over,  and  greetings  and  leave-takings 
exchanged,  the  foreign  guests  were  escorted  to  the 
station  by  a  long  row  of  following  jinrikishas.  In 
the  private  room  of  the  station-master  the  time  of 
waiting  was  spent  in  anecdotes  and  stories  reminis- 
cent of  that  disturbed  and  critical  but  glorious  past. 
The  chief  of  police  who  had  been  attendant,  in  or- 
der to  give  dignity  to  the  occasion  and  to  secure  the 
visitors  from  the  least  shadow  of  annoyance — dan- 
ger there  was  none — now  comes  forward  to  be  pre- 
sented and  be  thanked.  Tea  and  cakes  are  served; 
and  these  are  followed  by  renewed  expressions  of 
gratitude  and  friendship.  In  spite  of  remon- 
strance, the  sweet-faced  old  doctor  and  the  Chris- 
tian pastor  are  instructed  to  accompany  us  all  the 
way  back  to  our  hotel  in  Kyoto.  And  when,  after 
renewed  expressions  of  esteem  for  li  Kamon-no- 
Kami  and  of  the  friendship  for  us  and  for  our  coun- 
try, we  send  our  escort  back  to  Hikone  by  the  mid- 
night train,  we  certainly — and  I  trust — they  also, 
had  pleasant  and  permanent  memories  established, 
connected  with  the  beautiful  castle-town  on  Lake 
Biwa  and  its  now  honoured,  old-time  feudal  lord. 

And  I,  for  my  part,  had  certain  impressions  con- 


ITS    PATRIOT    MARTYR       279 

firmed  by  this  interesting  visit  to  the  home  of  the 
famous  lord  of  Hikone.  It  is  in  the  country  places 
of  Japan,  and  especially  in  its  old  feudal  towns, 
that  the  choicest  products  of  its  characteristic  civili- 
sation are,  at  present,  to  be  found.  Here  the  vir- 
tues of  chivalry  chiefly  linger;  here  these  virtues  are 
being  combined  with  the  intelligent  outlook  over 
the  world  imparted  by  modern  education  and  with 
some  of  the  virtues  which  are  in  particular  fos- 
tered by  the  faith  of  Christianity.  The  result  is 
a  charming  type  of  manhood  and  womanhood 
which  the  Western  World  may  well  admire,  and,  in 
some  respects,  emulate.  It  is  this  spirit  of  chivalry 
which  has  carried  the  nation  along  its  wonderful 
career*  down  to  the  present  time.  And  it  is  the  hope 
of  the  thoughtful  Japanese,  as  well  as  of  their  sym- 
pathising foreign  friends,  that  this  spirit  will  not 
be  quenched  by  the  inpouring  of  the  commercial 
spirit  of  the  modern  age. 

Again  also,  it  was  impressed  upon  my  mind  that 
no  other  of  the  formerly  "  hermit  nations "  has 
hitherto  incurred  such  grave  risks  in  yielding  to 
Western  forces  for  its  so-called  "  opening,"  as  did 
Japan  in  the  years  from  1853  to  1868.  But  then, 
no  other  nation  has  reaped  such  benefits  from  the 
yielding.  For  Japan  was  opened — the  great  ma- 
jority of  its  leaders  and  people  being  reluctant  and 


280         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

hostile — by  the  display  of  a  superior  force  of  Western 
armament  and  at  the  risk  of  having  the  national 
life  deluged,  if  not  extinguished,  in  blood.  Yet  the 
heart  of  the  nation  has  learned  to  respond  with 
gratitude  to  those  who  brought  about  such  a  turn- 
ing of  the  door  which  had  hitherto  been  closed  to 
the  world,  upon  the  hinges  of  destiny.  tc  Commo- 
dore Perry,"  said  Count  Okuma  to  the  writer  some 
years  ago,  "  was  the  best  friend  Japan  ever  had." 
With  the  name  of  the  Commodore  we  may  fitly 
couple  that  of  the  Consul-General,  Townsend  Har- 
ris; and  we  may  not  unfitly  add  that  one  of  the  best 
foreign  friends  which  the  United  States  ever  had 
was  the  Japanese  Tairo,  Baron  li  Kamon-no-Kami. 
When  we  remember  what  risks  his  nation  ran,  un- 
der his  leadership,  in  order  to  solve  peacefully  the 
vexed  question  of  foreign  trade  and  foreign  resi- 
dence, may  we  not  also  remind  ourselves  of  the  pro- 
priety that  somewhat  more  of  the  same  spirit  of 
chivalry  should  govern  our  conduct  in  dealing  with 
the  same  question,  now  that  a  half-century  of  con- 
tinued friendship  has  bound  together  the  two  na- 
tions, whose  representatives — the  one  so  patiently, 
the  other  so  bravely — solved  it  in  that  older  time 
of  agitation  and  threatened  disaster? 


CHAPTER    XI 

HIRO-MURA,  THE   HOME  OF  "  A  LIVING  GOD  " 

AMONG  the  more  startling  but  characteristic  of  the 
sketches  of  "  Old  Japan,"  as  drawn  by  the  skilful 
pen  of  Lafcadio  Hearn,  there  is  perhaps  no  one 
which  has  excited  a  wider  interest  than  that  he  was 
pleased  to  entitle  "  A  Living  God."  The  few 
pages  which  it  covers  illustrate  all  the  well-known 
excellencies  and  faults  of  this  gifted  writer.  Pur- 
porting to  give  facts,  but  quite  careless  as  to  what 
the  facts  really  were,  exaggerating  impressions 
and  twisting  the  meanings  of  quaint  old-time  cus- 
toms and  faiths,  Mr.  Hearn  nevertheless  celebrates 
the  deed  of  Hamaguchi  so  as  to  initiate  the  reader 
duly  into  the  spirit  of  a  half-century  ago,  in  the 
Land  of  the  Rising  Sun.  I  say,  "  a  half-century 
ago  " ;  for  although  the  story  makes  its  hero  to  have 
died  at  an  advanced  age  more  than  a  hundred  years 
before,  the  real  Mr.  Hamaguchi  died  in  New  York 
City,  as  late  as  April  21,  1889,  at  tne  aSe  °f  sixty- 
six.  He  was  then  only  thirty-two  years  old  when  in 
1855  h£  enabled  the  villagers  of  Hiro-mura  to  es- 

281 


282         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

cape  with  their  lives  from  the  overwhelming  wave 
caused  by  the  earthquake  of  that  year. 

It  is  worth  while  to  correct  some  of  the  other  mis- 
takes of  Mr.  Hearn,  before  giving  the  narrative  of 
a  recent  visit  to  Hiro-mura,  where  we  were  the 
guests  of  the  present  head  of  the  Hamaguchi  fam- 
ily. These  mistakes,  indeed,  do  not  at  all  detract 
from  the  nobility  of  the  hero's  action,  nor  greatly 
mar  the  writer's  reputation  for  picturing  graphically 
a  certain  aspect  of  the  spiritual  life  and  character  of 
the  Japanese.  Since  it  does  not  appear  that  he  had 
ever  travelled  in  this  part  of  the  country  (we  were 
assured  by  our  host  that  we  were  the  only  foreigners 
who  had  ever  been  seen  in  Hiro-mura),  the  topical 
inaccuracies  of  Mr.  Hearn's  story  are  easily  excus- 
able. Instead  of  Hamaguchi's  watching  the  merry- 
makers of  the  village  from  a  farm-house  on  the  hill- 
side, he  saw  the  ebbing  of  the  water  that  followed 
the  earthquake  and  presaged  the  incoming  wave, 
from  his  own  house  which  was  in  the  village  itself. 
Indeed  the  heighth  to  which  the  water  rose  in  its 
rooms  was  pointed  out  to  us  as  it  was  marked  plainly 
upon  the  wooden  pillars  in  front  of  the  tokonoma,  or 
alcove  where  the  artistic  and  other  similar  interests 
of  a  Japanese  household  are  centred.  Nor  was  the 
man  himself  simply  the  principal  farmer  of  the  dis- 


HIRO-MURA  283 

trict  For  many  generations  his  family  Kad  been 
one  of  the  largest  and  richest  in  this  part  of  Japan. 
Their  wealth  had  been  accumulated  in  the  manu- 
facture of  Shoyu — the  Japanese  sauce  invented  as 
a  modification  of  a  Chinese  original,  which  was  in- 
troduced into  Japan  some  centuries  ago  by  a  Bud- 
dhist priest,  and  without  which  no  food  "  tastes 
good "  to  the  modern  Japanese.  Moreover,  the 
huge  wave  occurred  in  the  middle  of  a  moonless 
night;  and  thus  the  stacks  of  grain,  which  were  not 
only  his  own,  but  also  all  that  Hamaguchi  could 
come  upon  in  the  village,  served  for  lights  to  guide 
the  villagers  in  their  flight;  and  not  at  all,  as  Mr. 
Hearn  would  have  us  believe,  for  signals  that  their 
help  was  needed  to  rescue  a  neighbour's  property 
from  fire. 

Mr.  Hamaguchi  did,  however,  come  perilously 
near  to  losing  his  own  life  for  the  sake  of  saving 
the  lives  of  others;  for  he  was  himself  the  last  to 
leave  the  lower  ground  of  the  village  and  escape  to 
the  hills.  As  it  was,  he  was  saved  only  by  making 
a  marvellous  jump  across  a  stream  which  checked 
the  relentless  wave  that  was  pursuing  and  over- 
taking him.  His  son,  Mr.  Tan  Hamaguchi,  tells 
us  this  incident,  which  is  unmentioned  by  Mr.  Hearn, 
and  adds :  "  I  can  recollect  well  that  in  my  boy- 


284         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

hood  I  used  to  bathe  and  fish  in  this  very  stream, 
without  realising  that  it  had  been  the  means  of 
saving  my  father's  life."  Nor  is  it  true  that  the 
hero  "  continued  to  live  in  his  old  thatched  house 
on  the  hill,  with  his  children  and  his  children's  chil- 
dren, just  as  humanly  and  simply  as  before,  while 
his  soul  was  being  worshipped  in  the  shrine  below." 
Even  before  the  incident  narrated  above,  at  the 
time  of  the  coming  of  the  "  black  ships  " — i.  e., 
Commodore  Perry's  fleet, — Hamaguchi  Goryo  had 
been  prominent  in  politics  as  one'  opposed  to  admit- 
ting foreigners  without  armed  resistance;  and,  after 
their  admittance,  he  organised  the  militia  of  his 
Province  and  drilled  them  according  to  his  ideas  of 
the  European  system.  At  the  time  that  the  su- 
preme power  was  restored  by  the  Revolution  to  the 
Emperor,  Goryo  was  appointed  to  a  position  corre- 
sponding to  that  of  Postmaster-General.  And 
later,  in  1879,  when  the  Ken-Kwai,  or  system  of  a 
local  body  of  representatives,  was  introduced,  he 
was  elected  president  of  the  Council  of  his  native 
place.  Still  later  he  organised  a  so-called  "con- 
ciliation society,"  which,  while  deprecating  the  then 
rising,  ignorant  strife  of  the  political  parties  in  pro- 
cess of  formation,  urged  a  "  careful  study  of  politics, 
rather  than  unrestrained  violence  and  empty  vapour- 


HIRO-MURA  285 

ings  of  irresponsible  talk."  Like  other  notable 
Japanese  of  his  day,  Hamaguchi  had  for  years  pre- 
vious to  his  death  cherished  the  plan  of  foreign 
travel  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  social  and 
political  institutions  of  foreign  countries.  Indeed, 
it  was  in  pursuance  of  this  plan  that — as  has  already 
been  said — we  find  him  in  New  York  City,  where 
he  died  in  1889. 

But  this  true  patriot  did  not  forget  his  own 
humble  village  in  his  larger  interest  in  the  politi- 
cal development  of  the  province  of  Kishu  and  of 
the  country  at  large.  The  tidal  wave  of  1885  had 
left  nearly  the  entire  village  of  Hiro-mura  desolate, 
and  its  inhabitants  homeless,  destitute,  and  quite 
unable  to  provide  for  themselves.  Hamaguchi 
Goryo  found  employment  for  them  by  organising 
and  carrying  through  a  scheme  for  building  an 
enormous  dyke  to  protect  the  village  from  future 
inundations.  This  dyke,  now  shadowed  with  well- 
grown  trees,  under  which  we  took  a  part  of  our 
Sunday's  walk,  March  10,  1907,  is  1800  yards  in 
length,  1 6  yards  wide,  and  5  yards  high.  "  With 
the  permission  of  the  Daimyo  of  Kishu"  (how 
thoroughly  of  the  "  Old  Japan  "  does  this  phrase 
smack!),  and  with  the  assistance  of  his  kinsman, 
Mr.  K.  Hamaguchi,  the  whole  cost  of  this  expen- 


286         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

sive  construction  was  defrayed  by  their  private 
means.  Moreover,  Goryo  did  much  for  the  roads 
and  bridges,  as  well  as  the  farms,  of  this  region 
in  Kishu. 

But  quite  apart  from  any  curiosity  to  see  the 
village  where  dwelt  the  hero  who  won  by  his  courage 
and  benevolence  the  name  of  Daimyojin,  or  the 
"divinely  great  and  bright"  (it  is  not  true,  as 
Lafcadio  Hearn  affirms  in  his  semi-fairy  tale,  that  a 
shrine  was  built  to  Goryo  during  his  lifetime  by  the 
villagers),  I  had  other  important  reasons  for 
visiting  Hiro-mura.  A  former  pupil  of  mine,  Mr. 
Takarayama,  was  principal  of  a  flourishing  school 
which  has  been  established  and  patronised  gener- 
ously by  the  Hamaguchi  family.  An  invitation 
from  the  head-master  and  the  patrons  of  this 
school,  and  their  representations  as  to  what  it 
would  mean  for  the  cause  of  education  in  the  whole 
district,  combined  with  descriptions  of  the  beauty 
of  its  scenery  and  the  as  yet  unsophisticated  nature 
of  the  country  people,  were  quite  sufficient  to  make 
us  eager  to  be  the  first  of  foreigners  to  see  and 
describe  this  wholly  unfamiliar  part  of  Japan.  In 
all  these  respects,  as  well  as  others,  our  experiences 
left  us  emphatic  in  the  conclusion  that  we  had 
seldom,  or  never,  in  any  part  of  the  world  Had  a 


HIRO-MURA  287 

more  rewarding  three  days  of  travel  and  of  sight- 
seeing than  those  spent  in  this  trip  through  Kishu. 

In  order  that  we  might  reach  our  destination  by 
a  single  day's  travel  in  jinrikishas — for  the  village 
is  some  twenty-five  miles  from  the  nearest  railway 
station — we  went  from  Kyoto  to  Osaka  on  the 
evening  of  the  day  before  and  took  the  early 
morning  train  for  the  interesting  and  beautiful  town 
of  Wakayama.  At  the  station  in  Osaka  we  found 
the  reserved  carriage  which  the  Governor  of  Waka- 
yama had  requested  to  have  ready  for  us.  As  the 
manager  of  the  railway  acknowledged  "  the  honour 
which  we  were  doing  his  road  by  condescending  to 
travel  over  it,"  I  think  we  felt  somewhat  as  the 
daimyo  of  Kishu  must  have  felt  when  he  granted 
"  permission "  to  Hamaguchi  Goryo  to  pay  for  the 
dyke  which  the  latter's  -enterprise  and  industry  had 
succeeded  in  building. 

The  ride  between  the  great  manufacturing  and 
modernised  city  and  the  ancient  town,  with  its  well- 
preserved  feudal  castle,  is  entertaining  throughout; 
the  part  along  the  sea  is  especially  picturesque.  On 
the  platform  of  the  station  at  Wakayama  stood  the 
Mayor,  the  heads  of  various  educational  associa- 
tions, and  others,  ready  to  welcome  the  arriving 
guests  in  the  customary  formal  but  friendly  fashion 


288         RARE     DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

of  "  Old  Japan,'1 — adapted,  however,  to  modern 
conditions  of  travel  and  clothing.  Four  jinrikishas, 
with  three  runners  for  each,  were  in  waiting.  After 
a  short  interval  of  discussion  as  to  certain  details, 
all  were  arranged  in  proper  order; — our  escort 
from  the  city  leading  the  way,  then  the  lady  ami 
the  gentleman  who  were  guests  (a  reversal  of  the 
ancient  order  of  the  precedence  of  the  sexes),  with 
Mr.  Takarayama  bringing  up  the  rear.  The  caval- 
cade started  off  at  a  brisk  trot  which  was  broken 
only  once  during  the  first  six  miles;  and  this  was 
in  order  to  pass  a  loaded  cart  where  the  road  alon^ 
the  cliff  was  somewhat  narrow  and  rough.  In  this 
way  we  reached  the  village  of  Kuroe  in  time  for 
luncheon.  A  turn  aside  from  the  main  street,  a 
somewhat  steep  climb  by  a  branch  road  and  then  by 
a  path  through  the  fields  to  the  hill-side  above  the 
village,  brought  us  to  the  beautiful  home  of  our  mid- 
Jay  host. 

Mr.  Kimura,  who  entertained  us  at  luncheon 
that  day,  is  a  younger  brother  of  Mr.  K.  Hama- 
guchi,  who,  as  so  often  happens  in  Japan,  has  been 
adopted  into  another  family  and  in  this  manner 
changed  his  family  name.  Over  the  gateway  to 
his  private  grounds  were  hung  the  flags  of  Japan 
and  of  the  United  States;  and  the  family,  which 


HIRO-MURA  289 

still  retains  something  of  its  patriarchal  constitu- 
tion in  the  country  places  of  Japan,  including  a 
number  of  the  principal  servants,  were  all  in  wait- 
ing to  welcome  the  foreign  guests.  Mr.  Kimura's 
residence  is  charmingly  situated;  the  house,  which 
is  purely  Japanese,  although  a  part  of  the  structure 
is  more  than  two  hundred  years  old,  is  still  in  excel- 
lent repair;  in  sunny  and  fairly  warm  weather  it 
has  the  beauty  which  is  peculiar  to  the  best  Japanese 
dwellings  when  set  in  one  of  those  picturesque  land- 
scapes that  abound  here  as  nowhere  else.  In  the 
room  where  we  were  received  were  a  few  treasures 
of  art,  which  had  been  brought  from  the  go-down 
for  the  occasion,  such  as  a  princess  might  covet; 
some  rare  old  kakemonos,  a  piece  or  two  of  the 
finest  lacquer,  and  one  of  the  most  interesting  and 
artistic  of  bronze  vases  for  flowers  which  I  have 
ever  seen.  The  base  of  this  vase  represented,  or 
rather  suggested  in  barest  outline,  the  surf  of  the 
sea,  with  sea-birds  flying  here  and  there  above  the 
curling  waves. 

This  entire  district  is  an  interesting  example  of 
the  persistence  in  modern  times  of  artisan  and  artist 
work,  as  done  in  -humble  houses  by  private  individ- 
uals and  families,  with  a  certain  independence  and 
pride  of  craft,  and  on  their  own  account  as  it  were. 


290        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

In  and  about  this  small  and  obscure  village  of  Kuroe 
there  are  as  many  as  one  thousand  houses  in  which 
work  in  lacquer  is  going  on.  Most  of  this  work 
is,  of  course,  of  cheap  and  ordinary  character; 
although  some  of  the  older  forms  of  cheap  utensils 
of  lacquer  have  a  certain  artistic  beauty.  Other 
specimens  of  the  work  done  to-day  in  these  houses  of 
the  village  and  the  adjoining  fields  may,  however, 
well  lay  claim  to  a  rather  high  order  of  merit. 
For  if  there  is  not  much  initiative  or  originality 
shown  by  the  peasant  workers,  the  designs  of  the 
celebrated  Korin,  made  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  are 
still  being  faithfully  and  skilfully  copied  by  them. 
But  there  surely  was  not  much  work  done,  whether 
in  fields,  shops,  or  houses,  during  the  hours  of  our 
stay.  For  the  people,  of  all  sorts,  ages,  and  sizes, 
were  gathered  in  groups,  with  that  mild-mannered 
and  unabashed  curiosity  which  characterises  the  old- 
fashioned  country  folk  of  Japan,  to  watch  the  do- 
ings of  the  strangers  who  had  so  suddenly  and 
unexpectedly  appeared  within  their  borders. 

If  further  experience  had  been  needed — as,  in- 
deed it  was  not — to  convince  me  of  the  ease  with 
which  one,  properly  introduced  and  conducted,  can 
make  acquaintances  among  the  good  people  of 
Japan,  our  short  stay  with  Mr.  Kimura  and  his 


HIRO-MURA  291 

family  would  furnish  it.  We  met  at  noon  as 
strangers;  we  parted  at  two  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  same  day  as  friends.  As  a  souvenir  of  this 
friendship  both  host  and  guests  cherish  a  photograph 
in  which  four  generations  of  this  Japanese  family, 
and  its  trusted  and  aged  head-steward,  are  grouped 
around  the  foreign  visitors. 

From  the  village  of  Kuroe  to  Hiro-mura  the 
jinrikisha  ride  is  one  of  almost  unexampled  charm. 
Indeed  the  landscapes  through  which  we  were  pass- 
ing combined  the  three  qualities  of  such  charm — - 
beauty  of  form,  beauty  of  colour,  and  human  in- 
terest— in  a  higher  degree,  I  think,  than  does  either 
the  drive  around  the  Bay  of  Naples  or  along  the 
Bosphorus.  The  day  was  superb — bright  with  the 
light  of  the  sky  and  the  sparkling  of  the  sea,  and 
just  cool  enough  for  comfortable  travelling.  We 
had  changed  runners  and  vehicles  at  Kuroe  and  so 
our  men  were  fresh  and  ambitious  to  show  how 
well  they  could  do.  The  first  part  of  the  course 
took  us  over  the  tops  and  along  the  sides  of  the 
cliffs  above  the  Bay  of  Shlmidzu,  or  "  Clear  Water." 
Here  the  landscape  had  its  beauty  of  form  contrib- 
uted by  the  very  configuration  of  the  coast-line  and, 
as  well,  of  the  mountain's  slopes  and  crests.  But 
the  curious  and  graceful  curves  of  the  terraces,  both 


292         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

above  and  below  the  road  as  it  wound  along  the 
bay,  and  up  and  down,  were  added  features  of 
delight  to  the  eye  that  appreciates  this  kind  of 
beauty.  The  reddish  brown  of  the  rock,  where  it 
shone  through  the  sombre  green  of  the  lichens,  em- 
phasised by  the  light  green  and  fawn  colour  of 
the  dried  grasses,  or  the  dark  and  almost  blackish 
green  of  the  pines;  the  reaches  up  between  the  cliffs, 
with  the  variegated  colours  of  the  vegetable  gar- 
dens, the  ooze  of  the  as  yet  unplanted  rice-fields, 
the  shiny  foliage  of  the  orange  groves,  with  the 
various  shades  of  yellow  fruit  showing  in  places 
through  the  leaves;  the  limpid  blue  waters  of  the 
Inland  Sea  and  of  the  Italian  sky,  which  combined 
to  reveal  all  the  many  hues  of  shell,  and  pebble, 
and  seaweed,  and  reflected  rock  and  tree  and  shrub, 
— all  this  made  an  unsurpassed  beauty  of  colouring 
to  give  warmth  and  feeling  to  the  beauty  of  form. 
And  then  there  was  that  indescribable  picturesque- 
ness  of  human  interest  which  belongs  to  the  country 
places  where  most  of  the  life  of  "  The  Old  Japan  " 
is  lingering  still.  In  the  succession  of  villages 
through  which  we  were  passing,  the  houses,  boats, 
costumes,  means  of  carriage,  forms  of  labour,  and 
modes  of  social  intercourse,  were  little  changed 
from  one  and  two  centuries  ago.  The  highway 


HIRO-MURA  293 

was  by  no  means  solitary  at  any  point  of  the 
twenty-five  miles  between  Wakayama  and  Hiro- 
mura.  Indeed  the  absence  of  steam-cars  and  of 
trolley  made  all  the  more  necessary  an  active  life  on 
the  road  in  order  to  do  the  necessary  business  for 
this  busy  and  not  unprosperous  district.  All  along  its 
course  men  were  trudging  with  baskets  and  buckets 
and  immense  packages  slung  on  poles  over  their 
shoulders.  Peasants  were  going  to  and  from  their 
work  in  the  fields  with  old-fashioned  mattocks  and 
rakes  in  hand  or  over  the  shoulder.  Men  and  boys 
were  pushing  up,  or  holding  back,  along  all  the 
slopes  of  the  hills,  the  long  dray-like  carts,  loaded 
with  boxes  of  oranges,  or  with  bales  of  raw  cotton 
to  be  spun,  or  of  cotton  yarn  or  cotton  cloth  already 
prepared  for  the  market.  For  just  as  a  thousand 
houses  in  the  district  nearer  Wakayama  are  making 
things  of  lacquer,  so  a  thousand  houses  in  this  dis- 
trict are  spinning  cotton  yarn  or  weaving  cotton 
cloth.  W!e  can  hear  the  cheerful  rattle  of  the 
looms  as  we  approach  the  way-side  cottages — a  noise 
which  is  suspended  as  the  cavalcade  of  curiously 
loaded  jinrikishas  draws  near;  only  to  be  resumed 
again  when  the  workers  have  seen  the  foreigners 
pass  by.  Indeed,  a  considerable  percentage  of  the 
products  of  the  Fuji  Cotton-Spinning  Company,  of 


294         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

which  our  host  at  Hiro-mura  is  the  president,  is 
manufactured  in  the  homes  of  the  villagers  and 
farmers  of  this  district.  May  a  kindly  Providence 
prevent  this  sort  of  domestic  industry  from  being 
displaced  by  smoky  mills,  in  crowded  centres,  under 
conspiracies  of  monopolies  and  trusts! 

But  bye  and  bye  we  leave  the  cliffs  along  the 
shore  of  Shimidzu  Bay  and  come  to  the  Arida  River. 
Herei  the  scenery  is  still  interesting  and  beautiful, 
but  of  quite  different  character.  Our  road  lies, 
much  of  the  way,  along  the  dykes  built  to  restrain 
the  overflow  of  this  stream,  down  which,  at  the 
present  time,  an  almost  unbroken  succession  of  rafts 
of  lumber  is  being  driven  by  the  lumbermen. 
Upon  the  banks  of  the  river  is  an  equally  endless 
succession  of  orange  groves;  for  we  are  now  in  the 
Florida  oif  Japan.  With  as  much  propriety,  we 
might  call  it,  so  far  as  orange  culture  goes,  the 
California  of  Japan.  In  these  groves,  or  rather 
yards, — since  the  fruit  seems  to  be  for  the  most 
part  cultivated  in  small  patches  in  the  gardens  of 
the  cottagers, — are  grown  the  small  free-skinned  and 
deliciously  sweet  oranges  for  which  this  region  of 
Kishu  is  particularly  celebrated.  But  here,  too 
are  the  groves  of  Navel  oranges,  the  trees  for  plant- 
ing which  were  imported  from  California  some 


"PEASANTS  WERE  GOING  TO  AND  FROM  THEIR  WORK" 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


HIRO-MURA  295 

eight  or  ten  years  ago.  (I  noticed,  however,  that 
this  variety  is  deteriorating  in  Japan.  The  one  small 
hard  semblance  of  an  orange  which  is  at  the  navel 
of  the  California  variety  in  this  country,  seems  there 
to  be  multiplying  itself  three-  and  four-fold,  until 
it  threatens  to  occupy  most  of  the  inside  of  what 
from  the  outside  appears  to  be  a  fine,  large  speci- 
men of  fruit.) 

The  quieter  rural  beauty,  with  its  commerce 
along  the  river  rather  than  along  the  shores  of 
the  sea,  is  satisfying  enough,  however,  to  prevent 
the  fatigue  of  travel  until  we  reach  Yuasa,  a  village 
separated  only  by  about  one  mile  from  Hiro-mura. 
At  the  outskirts  of  this  place  it  is  necessary  to  pass 
under  an  arch  of  "  Welcome  "  which  the  towns- 
people have  erected;  and  then  between  lines  of 
school  children,  who,  drawn  up  on  either  side  to 
the  number  of  three  hundred,  greet  us  with  bows 
and  waving  of  flags.  A  little  further  on,  we  are 
handed  a  large  card  which  announces  that  twenty- 
five  of  the  chief  men  of  the  village  of  Yuasa  have 
also  come  out  to  welcome  us.  And  there  they  are 
— friendly  and  yet  dignified  in  their  bearing — in  a 
single  row  along  one  side  of  the  highway.  Evi- 
dently the  demands  of  politeness  cannot  be  satisfied 
in  such  a  case  by  allowing  one's  self  to  be  drawn 


296        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

in  one's  jinrikisha  slowly  by  the  line,  with  uncov- 
ered head  and  frequent  exchange  of  bows.  So  the 
male  of  the  two  guests  dismounts  and  on  the 
common  level  of  the  highway  exchanges  saluta- 
tions with  the  numerous  representatives  of  the 
party  of  the  host. 

While  passing  through  the  streets  of  Yuasa  we 
noticed  entire  blocks  of  houses  which,  sometimes 
on  one  side  and  sometimes  on  two  or  more  sides, 
were  railed  off  from  the  highway,  at  a  short  dis- 
tance from  their  fronts,  by  a  barrier  of  galvanised 
iron  about  two  feet  and  a  half  high.  At  the  time, 
this  strange  sight  only  aroused  a  momentary  curi- 
osity. It  was  not  until  we  were  about  leaving  Hiro- 
mura  that  we  learned  the  meaning  of  it  all.  In 
July  of  the  previous  Summer  some  boatmen  from 
Osaka  had  landed  in  Yuasa  and  had  brought  to 
the  villagers  the  dreadful  bubonic  plague.  It  had 
taken  until  the  following  December  for  the  authori- 
ties to  stamp  out  the  scourge  effectually.  By  this 
contrivance  of  an  iron  wall  it  was  intended  to  trap 
the  rats  and  prevent  their  carrying  the  infection  from 
house  to  house  and  from  street  to  street,  before  they 
could  be  killed.  Aided  by  the  barrier  of  the  little 
river,  although  there  were  several  hundred  cases  in 
this  village,  the  other  village,  which  was  less  than 


HIRO-MURA  297 

a  mile  away,  wholly  escaped.  In  general,  it  is 
only  by  the  most  untiring  and  intelligent  diligence, 
extended  into  all  the  smaller  places  upon  the  coast 
and  into  the  remotest  country  districts,  that  Japan 
prevents  the  plagues  which  are  endemic  in  China, 
India,  and  Korea,  from  ravaging  her  own  land. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  Hiro, — the  stream  which 
gives  its  name  to  the  village  wfrere  Hamaguchi 
Goryo  lived,  and  across  which  he  made  his  famous 
jump  when  closely  pursued  by  the  incoming  wave,  in 
1855, — the  "guests"  were  met  by  another  "Wel- 
come "  arch,  and  another  yet  longer  array  of  school- 
masters and  school-children.  Indeed,  both  villages, 
in  the  persons  of  as  nearly  all  their  inhabitants 
as  could  get  about,  were  obviously  playing  the 
part  of  welcoming  hosts.  All  doorways  were 
crowded;  all  the  streets  along  which  the  jin- 
rikishas  passed  were  lined  with  citizens  curious  to 
see  the  "  first-arrived "  foreigners  in  this  part  of 
Kishu. 

On  reaching  his  hospitable  gateway  we  were  met 
and  welcomed  by  Mr.  K.  Hamaguchi  and  his  entire 
family,  and  were  ushered  into  a  room  which  was 
such  a  surprise  as  can  now  be  met  by  those  who 
have  access  to  the  houses  of  the  cultivated  and 
wealthy,  even  in  remote  country  districts  of  Japan. 


298        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

The  floor  of  the  large  parlour  or  drawing-room  was 
entirely  covered  by  a  beautiful  Chinese  rug,  spread 
over  the  soft  Japanese  mats.  In  violation,  to  be 
sure,  of  the  native  custom,  but  presumably  for  the 
delectation  of  his  guests,  a  temporary  display  of 
numerous  art  treasures  had  been  arranged  by  our 
host.  Kakemonos  painted  by  Enshu  and  other 
celebrated  native  artists  were  hung  upon  the  walls. 
Screens  of  the  greatest  artistic  interest  and  of  al- 
most priceless  value  were  to  be  admired  on  every 
hand.  Nor  were  these  art  objects  limited  to  the 
best  specimens  of  Japanese,  or  Chinese,  or  other 
Oriental  workmen.  Mr.  K.  Hamaguchi  in  his 
travels  around  the  world  had  made  judicious  selec- 
tion of  things  of  beauty  from  many  places.  It  was 
his  boast,  for  example,  that  he  had  collected  flower- 
vases  to  represent  the  best  work  of  a  score  of  dif- 
ferent foreign  countries. 

This  room,  with  its  shojl  drawn  aside,  looked  out 
upon  one  of  those  gardens  which  the  Japanese  are 
able,  without  exhausting  a  large  space,  to  make  so 
very  exquisite.  In  a  darkened  cage,  which  hung  in 
the  verandah  outside,  a  nightingale  occasionally 
burst  forth  in  song.  And  when,  after  a  dinner 
cooked  in  foreign  style  by  a  cook  imported  from 
Osaka,  the  shoji  were  drawn  and  we  were  put  to 


HIRO-MURA  299 

bed  within  a  small  space  curtained-off,  in  a  bedstead 
brought  expressly  for  this  purpose  all  the  way  from 
Tokyo,  and  covered  with  thickly  wadded  Japanese 
futons  of  the  winter  variety,  our  only  wish 'was  that 
we  might  have  been  allowed  the  much  more  com- 
fortable but  less  dignified  spread  of  the  same  futons 
upon  the  floor  of  the  large  room,  with  the  sides 
still  left  open  into  the  garden,  so  that  we  could 
breath  its  delicious  air,  and  go  to  sleep  to  the  mur- 
mur of  the  fountain  and  the  song  of  the  nightin- 
gale. But  the  return  to  the  improved  and  more 
elegant  use  of  the  better  points  in  the  art  of  com- 
fortable and  healthful  living,  which  were  enforced 
before  foreign  customs  were  introduced  into  the 
"  Old  Japan,"  will  come  through  the  growth  of  un- 
derstanding and  the  added  appreciation  of  a  com- 
fortable and  healthful  simplicity,  in  the  "New 
Japan."  Meantime  we  hope  that  the  genuine  and 
delightful,  if  somewhat  too  elaborate,  courtesies  of 
host  and  guest  will  not  be  wholly  changed. 

The  next  day  was  the  time  of  work,  the  day  for 
which  the  other  days  of  the  rather  lengthy  but  al- 
together delightful  journey  had  been  undertaken. 
Its  experiences  were  calculated  to  strengthen  the 
conclusions  derived  from  all  my  other  experiences 
during  three  different  visits  to  Japan, — namely, 


300        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

that  no  other  nation  is  now,  in  comparison  with  its 
resources,  giving  the  same  care  to  the  intellectual 
and  ethical  education  of  the  common  people.  For 
Hiro-mura,  the  reader  will  remember,  is  an  ob- 
scure village,  not  even  mentioned  in  the  guide- 
books, some  twenty-five  miles  from  the  nearest  rail- 
way station,  and  never,  according  to  the  testimony 
of  their  leading  citizen,  visited  by  foreigners  before. 
But  the  day  was  also  calculated  to  impress  yet 
more  deeply  another  characteristic  of  the  social  and 
public,  as  well  as  of  the  domestic,  life  of  Japan. 
The  spirit  of  Hamaguchi  Goryo  was  everywhere 
in  the  air.  And  here  is  where  Mr.  Hearn  shows 
his  insight  into,  and  his  appreciation  of,  a  momen- 
tous truth.  It  is,  indeed,  a  truth  which  cannot  be 
argued  with  the  Westerner, — easily  or  without  em- 
barrassment, for  lack  of  a  sufficient  standing  upon 
common  ground.  It  is  a  truth  which  must  be  pro- 
foundly felt.  Japan,  perhaps  more  than  any  other 
civilised  nation,  is  constantly  under  the  prevailing 
influence  of  a  belief  in  what  Mr.  Hearn  is  pleased 
— not  altogether  aptly — to  call  "  ghosts."  These 
are  the  ghosts — I  should  rather  say,  the  felt  spirit- 
ual presences — "  of  great  warriors  and  heroes  and 
rulers  and  teachers,  who  lived  and  loved  and  died 
hundreds  or  thousands  of  years  ago."  As  he  says 


HIRO-MURA  301 

truly:  "You  cannot  mock  the  conviction  of  forty 
(now  more  than  fifty)  millions  of  people  while  that 
conviction  thrills  all  about  you  like  the  air, — while 
conscious  that  it  is  pressing  upon  your  psychical  be- 
ing just  as  the  atmosphere  presses  upon  your  phys- 
ical being."  Even  to-day,  in  the  school-rooms  and 
university  halls  and  public  playgrounds  of  the  chil- 
dren and  youth  of  Japan,  it  is  not  the  trophies  of 
some  individual  player  or  team  of  athletes,  but  the 
mottoes  and  injunctions  and  other  relics  of  the  great 
and  the  good,  not  only  of  the  present,  but  also  and 
chiefly  of  the  older,  and  the  most  ancient  times, 
which  excite  their  feelings  of  pride  and  emula- 
tion. 

Soon  after  nine  o'clock  Mr.  Takarayama,  the 
head-master,  came  to  conduct  us  to  the  school. 
Our  way  there  was  lined  with  villagers,  some  of 
them  with  chubby  babies  strapped  upon  their  backs 
or  held  aloft  in  the  arms,  and  all  eager  to  see  the 
wonderful  sight.  A  yet  more  beautiful  arch  than 
any  we  had  before  seen  had  been  constructed  by  the 
pupils  at  the  entrance  to  the  school-grounds.  In- 
side the  gateway,  too,  was  a  most  elaborate  system 
of  decorations,  arranged  by  displaying  many  flags 
of  all  nations  which  had  been  laboriously  painted 
by  the  same  youthful  hands.  Teachers  and  schol- 


302         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

ars  made  a  thick-set  avenue  by  which  the  building 
where  the  addresses  were  to  be  given  must  be  ap- 
proached. This  and  all  the  other  buildings,  now 
newly  completed  but  already  paid  for,  stand  within 
grounds  that  are  ample  for  the  future  expansion  of 
the  school.  The  site  is  lovely.  It  is  a  gently  slop- 
ing ground,  with  the  water  in  sight.  The  bay 
which  washes  its  feet  is  called  " Nagi"  or  "The 
Peaceful  ";  and  it  is  rightly  named. 

The  morning  exercises,  including  the  address  by 
the  foreign  Semei,  or  Teacher,  were  to  be  devoted 
to  the  pupils  and  patrons  of  the  school;  while  the 
afternoon  meeting  was  more  particularly  intended 
for  the  several  hundred  teachers  in  the'  district, 
many  of  whom  had  come  by  jinrikisha  or,  more 
often,  on  foot,  from  twenty  and  even  thirty  miles 
away.  But  even  the  morning's  programme  was  suffi- 
ciently elaborate  to  impress  the  visitors  from  sur- 
rounding parts  with  the  great  importance  of  an  oc- 
casion so  unique.  A  study  of  the  somewhat  quaint 
translation  of  the  Japanese  original  disclosed  the 
following  particulars,  duly  itemised  and  correctly 
numbered : 

(i)  Visiting  the  recitation  rooms;  (2)  Salu- 
tation (all  together);  (3)  introduction  (the  Prin- 
cipal) ;  (4)  singing  a  welcome  song  (the  pupils)  ; 


HIRO-MURA  303 

(5)  address  of  welcome  (a  pupil);  (6)  sketch  of 
the  school  (a  pupil) ;  (7)  welcome  (Mr.  K.  Hama- 
guchi) ;  (8)  Address  (Professor  Ladd) ;  (9) 
Thanks  (the  Principal);  (10)  singing  of  a  school 
song);  (n)  (dismission). 

Under  certain  circumstances  it  is  no  small  advan- 
tage not  to  be  familiar  with  the  language  in  which 
you  are  being  addressed.  This  is  especially  true 
when  one  is  either  excessively  praised  or  excessively 
blamed  and  denounced.  In  this  way  the  foreign 
speaker  at  this  morning  gathering  in  Hiro-mura 
was  spared  the  temptation  which  would  have  ac- 
companied the  knowledge  that  the  youth  who  gave 
the  address  of  welcome11— No.  5  upon  the  programme 
— was  comparing  his  fame  to  Fuji  and  his  gracious- 
ness  and  charm  to  the  cherry-blossoms  on  Mount  Yo- 
shino;  but  this  is  what  the  translation  of  the  address 
subsequently  revealed.  Such  things,  however,  were 
commoner  and  more  congenial  to  the  poetic  license 
of  the  Old  Japan.  Now,  in  spite  of  certain  at- 
tempts at  modernising,  this  part  of  Kishu  remains 
much  the  same  as  of  old;  and  so,  both  the  youthful 
reader  of  the  words  and  the  adult  hearers  of  them 
were  quite  properly  solemn  and  unmoved  by  the 
sight  and  fragrance  of  such  flowers  of  flattery. 
Nature,  however,  was  preparing  to  give  the 


304         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

audience  another  sort  of  reminder  of  the  days  and 
deeds  of  Hamaguchi  Goryo.  For  the  foreign 
guest  had  scarcely  heard  his  last  sentences  inter- 
preted by  the  head-master,  when  a  loud  explosion, 
followed  by  rumbling  noises  like  those  which  would 
be  made  by  scores  of  huge  ten-pin  balls  rolling  over 
a  wooden  alley,  startled  us  all.  It  was  within  a  few 
seconds  of  noon ;  and  the  watches  of  those  who  had 
them  came  out  promptly  in  order  that  their  owners 
might  note  the  exact  time.  The  lady  of  the  for- 
eign guests  indeed  interpreted  it  all  to  mean  that 
the  noon-gun  had  just  been  fired.  She  was  alone  in 
this  impression;  every  one  else  knew  that  there  was 
no  noon-gun  to  be  fired,  within  many  miles ;  but  that 
some  stratum  of  rock  under  the  neighbouring  sea 
could  no  longer  bear  the  strain,  and  so  had  parted 
in  this  sudden  and  demonstrative  way.  In  brief,  it 
was  an  earthquake — just  such  an  one  as  is  peculiar 
to  this  region,  and  such  as  caused  the  incoming  wave 
which  overwhelmed  Hiro-mura  in  1855.  This, 
however,  was  only  a  small  quake;  although  the 
building  shook  under  the  first  blow  upon  its  founda- 
tions. Nor  was  there  any  perceptible  disturbance  of 
"  Peaceful  Bay  "  to  follow.  And  if  there  had  been, 
it  would  not  easily  have  surmounted  the  high  and 
broad  earth-works,  with  their  avenue  of  stately  trees, 


HIRO-MURA  305 

which  were  a  half-century  ago  made  the  guardians  of 
the  future  safety  of  the  village. 

After  tiffin  it  was  necessary  almost  immediately 
to  return  to  the  school  for  the  address  to  the  teach- 
ers of  Hiro-mura,  Yuasa,  and  the  country  districts 
far  around.  Nearly  five  hundred  of  these  teachers 
were  present  at  the  afternoon  meeting.  The  sub- 
ject of  the  address  was  "  The  Ideals  of  the 
Teacher."  Here,  as  quite  uniformly  in  the  country 
at  large,  the  speaker's  heart  went  out  to  the  audi- 
ence with  warm  feelings  of  respect,  sympathy,  and 
even  pity. 

I  have  been  in  more  or  less  familiar  intercourse 
for  nearly  twenty  years  with  thousands  of  this  class 
in  Japan.  In  spite  of  the  sincere  and  largely  in- 
telligent interest  which  both  Government  and  peo- 
ple take  in  matters  of  education,  the  public-school 
teachers  of  the  country  are  heavily  overworked  and 
lamentably  underpaid.  But  the  ideal  of  His 
Majesty's  celebrated  Imperial  Rescript  is  steadily 
held  up  before  them — namely,  that  there  shall  be  no 
household  in  the  land,  and  no  member  of  any 
household,  to  whom  the  benefits  of  education  shall 
not  have  been  supplied  in  liberal  measure.  To 
realise  this  ideal,  Japan  must  have  an  entire  genera- 
tion or  more  of  peace  and  of  peaceful  development. 


3o6         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

At  present  its  Normal  Schools,  Higher  Schools 
(those  of  the  so-called  Koto  grade),  and  Univer- 
sities, can  scarcely  provide  for  more  than  one-tenth 
of  those  who  are  desirous  of  fitting  themselves  for 
advanced  positions  and  larger  influence  in  the  serv- 
ice of  the  nation.  As  a  result,  in  many  of  the  coun- 
try places  the  scholastic  training  of  the  teachers  can- 
not be  of  a  high  grade.  But  the  eagerness  with  which 
these  humble  men  (for,  unlike  the  case  with  us,  the 
great  majority  of  the  common-school  teachers  are 
males, — many  of  them  in  middle  life  and  beyond) 
avail  themselves  of  every  opportunity  to  see  and  hear 
anything  which  may  help  them  in  their  work,  is  both 
encouraging  and  pathetic.  Where  in  the  United 
States,  for  example,  could  a  voluntary  class  of  more 
than  eight  hundred  teachers  be  held  together  for 
twenty  hours  of  lectures  on  education, — each  session 
more  than  filling  up  the  period  between  four  and 
six  o'clock  of  the  afternoon,  during  the  busiest  part 
of  term-time?  Yet — as  I  have  already  said — this 
was  readily  done  in  Kyoto,  the  ancient  capital,  in 
the  Winter  of  1907. 

Nowhere  else,  therefore,  in  Hiro-mura,  not  even 
in  the  strong  protecting  dyke,  is  the  spirit  of  Hama- 
guchi,  with  its  affectionate  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
his  fellow  villagers,  more  prominently  and  power- 


HIRO-MURA  307 

fully  displayed  than  in  the  planting  of  the  school  on 
the  beautiful  grounds  in  full  sight  of  the  bay  which 
is  called  Nagi,  or  "  The  Peaceful."  The  dyke  shall 
continue  to  push  back  the  sea ;  and  the  school,  under 
its  protection,  shall  continue  to  push  back  the  forces 
of  ignorance  and  immorality. 

After  the  lecture  and  the  inevitable  photograph- 
ing of  the  group — a  species  of  photographing  in 
which  the  Japanese  peculiarly  excel — a  considerable 
party  accompanied  the  guests  to  a  grove,  high  up 
upon  the  hillside,  from  which  the  fields,  and  school 
and  villages,  and  bay,  could  be  overlooked.  There 
chocolate  and  cake  were  served.  And  from  there, 
after  the  descent  to  the  plain  was  made,  we  walked 
to  the  house  of  our  host  along  the  dyke,  under  the 
shadow  of  the  pine-trees,  and  looking  down  upon 
the  waters  which  had  once  deluged  the  place — all 
speaking  to  the  memory,  sympathetic  with  Japan- 
ese ideas,  of  the  spirit  of  Hamaguchi  Goryo. 

The  plan  had  been  to  start  our  jinrikisha  ride 
back  to  Wakayama  not  later  than  half-past  six  the 
following  morning.  But  things  in  the  country 
places  of  Japan  have  not  yet  learned  to  occur  at  the 
expected  hour.  Or  rather,  the  experienced  travel- 
ler has  learned  not  to  expect  to  start  his  journey  ex- 
actly at  the  promised  time.  We  were  doing  well 


3o8         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

when  we  bade  our  friendly  host  and  hostess  good- 
bye an  hour  later  than  the  one  appointed.  The  re- 
turn ride  was  indeed  pleasant;  but  it  lacked  the 
charms  of  brightness  and  of  novelty;  for  the  sky 
was  overcast  and  the  air  was  that  of  March  rather 
than  of  May.  We  changed  kurumas  at  Kuroe,  as 
before,  but  did  not  stop  there;  and  making  the  run 
of  some  eight  miles  without  a  single  pause,  we  ar- 
rived at  Waka-no-Ura  about  half-past  eleven  o'clock. 
Now  Waka-no-Ura,  as  the  very  name  signifies, 
is  the  "coast"  (Ura)  for  which  the  old  feudal 
town,  the  capital  of  the  Province  of  Kishu,  Waka- 
yama,  is  the  "mountain"  (Yama) .  It  is  one  of 
the  most  notable  for  its  beauty  of  all  the  sea-coasts 
of  Japan.  The  picturesque  features  of  the  land- 
scape, which  have  been  celebrated  in  innumerable 
poems  by  centuries  of  poets  and  poet-asters,  were 
all  in  evidence  on  that  day.  There  were  the  storks 
standing  on  one  leg  in  the  water,  or  flying  low 
above  the  rushes.  There  were  the  rocks  and  the 
pines — not  straight,  of  course,  like  ours,  but  by  their 
knarled  and  knotty  shapes,  irregularities  and  eccen- 
tricities of  outline,  provoking  in  the  mind  of  the 
Japanese  all  manner  of  sentimental  expressions  and 
similes  touching  human  life.  There  were  the 
boats  of  the  fishermen,  at  sea  or  lying  in  the  offing; 


- 


HIRO-MURA  309 

and  nearer  by  were  the  boats  of  the  women  who 
Were  gathering  sea-weed  for  their  food  or  for  sale. 
A  regular  "shore  dinner "  of  fish  and  birds  was 
somewhat  hastily  concluded,  in  the  company  of  the 
Governor  of  the  Ken,  the  Mayor  of  the  City,  and 
a  representative  of  the  Educational  Societies.  Im- 
mediately after  this,  the  Governor  excused  himself 
and,  mounting  his  bicycle,  went  on  ahead  of  us,  who 
followed  in  jinrikishas.  The  highway  along  which 
we  passed  rapidly,  was,  for  much  of  the  three  miles 
between  the  coast  and  the  city,  made  picturesque 
with  its  shading  of  pines ;  and  once  within  the  more 
thickly  settled  streets  of  Wakayama  it  circuited  the 
castle  walls  and  brought  us  to  the  Government- 
building  where  the  afternoon's  lecture  was  to  be 
given.  Here,  as  everywhere,  the  audience,  which 
numbered  about  eight  hundred  teachers  and  officials, 
many  of  whom  had  come  from  considerable  dis- 
tances away,  bore  convincing  testimony  to  the  inter- 
est of  the  Japanese  people  at  large  in  questions  of 
education  and  ethics.  But  we  were  not  to  carry  out 
the  plan  of  seeing  more  of  the  sights  and  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Wakayama.  For  a  telegram  informed  me 
that  Marquis  Ito  had  already  left  Oiso  and  would 
reach  Kyoto  that  evening,  where  he  would  plan  to 
see  me  the  next  morning.  Directly  from  the  hall, 


3io         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

therefore,  we  were  taken  in  haste  to  the  station,  and 
by  late  evening  we  had  reached  our  hotel  in  Kyoto. 
But  Hiro-mura  and  Hamaguchi  Goryo  cannot  be 
dismissed  with  propriety  from  our  present  thought, 
however  pleasant  its  purely  personal  reminiscences 
may  be,  without  recurring  to  the  more  impersonal 
and  important  impressions,  such  as  are  made  by 
Lafcadio  Hearn's  story  of  "  A  Living  God."  In  a 
little  book  published  in  England  about  five  years 
ago,  the  son,  Mr.  Tan  Hamaguchi,  tells  us  of  the 
following  incident:  He  had  been  reading  a  paper 
on  "  Some  Striking  Female  Personalities  in  Japan- 
ese History,"  before  the  Japan  Society  of  London; 
following  which  a  lady  in  the  audience  raised  the 
question  of  a  possible  relationship  between  the 
reader  of  the  paper  and  the  hero  of  Mr.  Hearn's 
tale.  The  question  led,  not  only  to  the  exposure  of 
the  intimate  character  of  this  relation,  but  also  to 
the  correction  and  amplification  of  the  more  fanci- 
ful of  the  points  emphasised  by  the  celebrated  for- 
eign romancer  of  Japan's  characteristic  ideals  and 
forms  of  behaviour.  It  was  admitted  that  "  Mr. 
Lafcadio  Hearn  throws  around  the  facts  a  golden 
aureole  of  fancy."  But  it  was  justly  claimed  that, 
although  the  long  list  of  posts  held,  and  services 
rendered,  by  a  good  patriot  to  his  country  may 


HIRO-MURA  311 

"  lack  the  glamour  of  a  single  action,  which  has  the 
fortune  to  attract  the  genius  of  a  sympathetic 
writer,  and  so  carry  his  name  and  fame  on  words  of 
English  eloquence  across  the  world,"  discerning 
readers  will  none  the  less  see  in  these  offices  and 
services  "  so  many  fresh  titles  to  veneration  and  re- 
gard." There  was — we  have  already  said — no 
shrine  built  to  the  hero  during  his  life-time  by  the 
villagers  of  Arita.  The  shrine  was  "  metaphorically 
erected  in  their  hearts  and  on  their  lips." 

In  at  least  two  important  respects,  however,  the 
facts  are  more  honourable  to  Hamaguchi  Goryo  and 
to  his  countrymen  than  are  the  fancies  of  Mr. 
Hearn.  For  it  was  not  one  seemingly  supernatural 
deed  of  heroism,  but  a  life-time  of  service  such  as 
all  may  try  to  perform,  which  constituted  this 
hero's  claim  to  immortality;  and  the  time,  instead 
of  being  more  than  a  hundred  years  gone  by,  was  in 
the  generation  of  yet  living  men.  It  is,  therefore, 
thoroughly  representative,  both  of  the  spirit  which 
still  animates  many  of  the  leaders  and  princi- 
pal citizens  of  Japan,  and  also  of  the  kind  of  recog- 
nition and  grateful  remembrance  which  Japan  ac- 
cords to  those  who  serve  her  in  this  spirit.  Thus 
much,  which  tends  to  foster  the  "  worship  of 
ghosts  "  and  the  multiplication  of  "  living  gods  " — 


312         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

to  borrow  phrases  from  Mr.  Hearn — is  a  fairly  ef- 
fective and  most  praiseworthy  force  in  the  country 
down  to  the  present  hour. 

Nor  is  this  force  evanescent,  ineffective,  and  limited 
to  politicians  and  promoters  of  large  business  enter- 
prises, as  is  for  the  most  part  the  case  at  present 
with  us.  It  is  the  "  ghosts  "  of  great  "  rulers  and 
teachers,"  as  well  as  of  warriors  and  heroes;  of 
those  "  who  lived  and  loved  and  died  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  years  ago,"  as  well  as  of  the  success- 
ful and  influential  man  of  the  passing  hour.  And 
the  hope  of  being  numbered  among  the  innumer- 
able host  that  have  served  their  country,  and  that 
are  regarded  as  all  of  one  band,  whether  here  on 
earth  or  members  of  the  "  choir  invisible,"  is  no 
impotent  factor  in  that  spirit  with  which  Japan  met 
its  enemy  (now  its  friend)  in  the  war  of  1 904^05. 
As  one  of  her  generals  Said  to  me:  "It  is  the 
spiritual  training  of  the  soldier  which  we  find  most 
difficult  and  on  which  we  place  the  greatest  empha- 
sis." This  worshipful  attitude  toward  the  great 
and  the  good  of  the  past,  which  is  something  more 
than  admiration  and  even  something  more  than 
mere  reverence,  and  yet  is  not  quite  what  we  call 
"  worship,"  it  is  that  binds  the  living  and  the  dead 
together  in  a  peculiar  bond  of  unity;  that  fills  the 


HIRO-MURA  313 

actor  of  to-day  with  an  inspiration  and  a  hope 
which  takes  a  hold  upon  the  universal  and  the  eter- 
nal; and  that  makes  the  sacrifice  of  what  is  tem- 
poral and  selfish  more  prompt,  cheerful,  and  easy 
to  bear.  And  who  shall  say  that  there  is  not  some- 
thing admirable  and  eminently  hopeful  for  the  na- 
tion in  this?  Or,  at  least,  such  are  the  thoughts 
connected  in  my  mind  with  the  visit  to  Hiro-mura 
and  with  'the  facts,  even  when  stripped  of  the  pleas- 
ing but  not  veritable  fancies  of  Mr.  Hearn,  con- 
cerning the  history  of  Hamaguchi  Goryo. 


CHAPTER    XII 

COURT   FUNCTIONS   AND  IMPERIAL   AUDIENCES 

EVERYTHING  important  connected  with  the  Impe- 
rial Court  of  Japan  is  regulated  by  law  in  the  most 
careful  manner.  These  regulations  include,  not 
only  the  Peerage  of  all  ranks,  but  also  those  na- 
tives who  belong  to  the  civil  service  or  who  have 
been  judged  deserving  of  recognition  on  account  of 
some  special  contribution  to  the  public  welfare. 
The  latter  system  of  nominal  honours  is  called 
"  ikai,"  or  more  commonly  "kurai";  but  it  has  no 
outward  badge  to  represent  it.  The  holder  of  a 
fourth  or  higher  grade  of  "  ikai,"  however,  even 
when  he  is  no  longer  in  Government  service,  re- 
ceives an  invitation  on  the  occasion  of  certain  state 
festivals, — as  for  example,  the  Birthday  evening 
party.  The  heir  of  a  Peer  is  entitled  to  the  fifth- 
grade  junior  "  ikai "  as  soon  as  he  reaches  his  ma- 
jority. A  number  of  wealthy  merchants  possjess 
this  nominal  honour,  which  they  have  gained  by 
contributions  of  money  to  public  purposes.  Be- 
sides these,  there  are  those  who  have  been  "  deco- 

314 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          315 

rated,"  both  natives  and  a  few  foreigners,  all  of 
whom  have  their  court  rank  prescribed  according  to 
the  Order  and  the  Degree  of  the  decoration  con- 
ferred. Of  these  decorations,  the  six  grades  of 
"  The  Order  of  the  Rising  Sun  "  are  the  most  cov- 
eted; because  this  Order  is  bestowed  only  for  "  con- 
spicuous personal  merit " ;  and  hitherto  it  has  been 
only  sparingly  bestowed.  When  the  Grand  Order 
of  Merit  and  The  Grand  Cordon  of  the  Crysanthe- 
mum  are  added  to  the  First  Class  of  the  Rising 
Sun,  the  fortunate  person  has  been  invested  with  the 
highest  honour  accessible  to  a  Japanese  subject. 
Only  eight  personages,  exclusive  of  Imperial 
Princes,  and  mentioning  only  those  who  are  still 
alive,  have  attained  so  high  an  honour.  At  the 
head  of  this  list  stood  Prince  Ito;  and  following 
him  are  such  well  known  names  as  Yamagata, 
Oyama,  Matsukata,  and  latest  of  all,  Admiral 
Togo. 

It  can  easily  be  imagined  that  fixing  the  order  of 
precedence  at  the  Imperial  Court  of  Japan  is  not 
a  matter  in  which  the  inexpert  foreigner  can  inter- 
meddle safely,  whether  by  way  of  his  own  proposed 
conduct,  or  even  of  the  expression  of  wishes  or  of 
opinion.  The  actual  arrangement,  as  given  in  the 
"Japanese  Year  Book "  for  1908,  mentions  by 


316         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

name  about  eighty  gentlemen  and  twenty  "  court 
ladies," — the  precedence  of  all  other  persons  who 
have  either  the  occasional  or  the  regular  privilege 
of  attending  court  being  fixed,  by  general  rules,  ac- 
cording to  their  rank.  Foreigners  having  decora- 
tions come  in  the  same  position  as  natives  of  the 
same  Order  and  Class  of  decoration.  For  exam- 
ple, those  who  have  the  2nd  Class  Order  of  the  Ris- 
ing Sun  have  with  it  a  court  rank  between  the 
Counts  and  the  Viscounts;  and  those  who  have  the 
3d  Class  of  the  same  Order  fall  between  the  Vis- 
counts and  the  Barons. 

Holders  of  the  3d  and  higher  classes  of  the  "  Or- 
ders of  Merit  "  have  the  right  to  request  cards  of 
invitation  to  certain  of  the  Court  functions,  attend- 
ance at  which  is  a  much  coveted  privilege.  To  some 
of  these  a  few  foreigners  may  obtain  invitations, 
either  through  the  official  representative  of  the 
country  to  which  they  belong,  or  through  some  in- 
fluential native  friend;  but  for  certain  other  of  these 
functions  such  a  thing  is  very  difficult  or  impossible. 
This  fact  is  not  infrequently  the  occasion  of  much 
heart-burning  and  complaining  on  the  part  of  the 
foreign  tourist;  and  of  no  small  embarrassment  to 
foreign  Ambassadors  and  Ministers,  and  even  to 
the  Departments  of  "  The  Household "  and  of 


COURT    FUNCTIONS  317 

Foreign  Affairs,  of  the  Japanese  Government.  Per- 
haps the  citizens  of  the  United  States  are  no  more 
unreasonable  in  this  matter  than  are  the  citizens  of 
other  countries ;  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  they 
are.  At  any  rate,  it  is  well  to  remind  ourselves 
that,  while  our  sentiment  which  exalts  personal 
worthiness  above  court  rank  is  quite  justifiable,  both 
on  moral  and  on  political  grounds,  it  is  an  essential 
effect  of  this  very  sentiment,  when  sincere  and  re- 
fined, not  to  wish  to  go  where  one  is  not  desired, 
or  where  one's  presence  is  not  in  every  way  an  ap- 
propriate part  of  the  social  or  ceremonial  occasion. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  those  who  issue  the  invi- 
tation it  is  also  to  be  remembered  that  to  summon 
everybody  who  might  wish  to  attend  would  not  only 
deprive  the  particular  function  of  all  meaning,  but 
would  be  to  face  a  physical  impossibility.  Besides, 
no  one  who  is  not  either  actually  invited  or  uninten- 
tionally overlooked,  can  lay  any  slightest  claim  to  a 
"right,1*  in  the  case  of  any  similar  engagement. 
The  accredited  representatives  of  foreign  countries 
are,  indeed,  entitled  to  be  treated,  not  only  politi- 
cally but  socially,  with  a  deference  which  is  some- 
thing more  than  personal;  and  to  certain  others — 
as  has  already  been  said — a  similar  social  distinc- 
tion has  been  conceded  as  a  "  right."  But  as  for 


318         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

the  rest  of  us,  I  fail  to  see  how  either  ethics  or  eti- 
quette prescribes  to  courts  any  other  obligations 
than  those  which  we,  ourselves,  as  private  persons, 
choose  to  follow.  We  invite  only  those  whom  we, 
for  one  reason  or  another,  want  to  have  come;  and, 
if  we  are  truly  self-respecting,  we  do  not  ourselves 
want  to  go  where  we  are  not  wanted. 

The  two  most  conspicuous  of  the  ceremonial  oc- 
casions which  are  open  to  a  selected  few  among  the 
foreign  residents  or  visitors  in  Japan,  and  to  which 
invitations  are  especially  coveted,  are,  perhaps  the 
Court  Ball  given  by  the  Japanese  Minister  of  For- 
eign Affairs,  on  the  evening  of  the  Emperor's  birth- 
day, and  the  Audience  given  by  both  Their  Majes- 
ties, on  New  Year's  morning,  in  the  throne-room  of 
the  Imperial  Palace  in  Tokyo. 

The  annual  Court  Ball  on  the  night  of  the  third 
of  November,  1906,  was  given  by  Viscount  and 
Viscountess  Hayashi,  at  the  official  residence  of  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  The  daylight  hours 
had  fully  justified  the  Japanese  impression  with  re- 
gard to  the  "  regulation  "  weather  for  His  Majes- 
ty's birthday.  It  was  delightfully  clear  and  cool, 
without  being  in  the  least  uncomfortably  chilly. 
We  had  risen  at  six  o'clock,  and  had  left  the  house 
soon  after  seven  in  order  to  reach,  on  time,  the 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          319 

parade-ground,  at  Oyama,  where  the  Emperor  was 
to  review  about  thirty  thousand  picked  troops, 
of  the  different  branches  of  the  service.  After  His 
Majesty  had  once  made  the  circuit  of  the  large  field 
on  horseback,  he  sat  on  his  horse,  while  the  entire 
force, — first,  the  infantry,  then  the  artillery,  and, 
finally,  the  cavalry,  passed  in  review  before  him. 
The  rain  of  the  night  before  had  laid  the  dust  so 
that  it  was  not  difficult  to  take  in  a  view  of  the  en- 
tire field  at  ,once.  The  order  of  the  troops  was,  in- 
deed, excellent,  but  they  did  not  make  at  all  so 
brilliant  a  display  as  the  fifteen  thousand  Turkish 
troops  which  I  had  seen  called  out  to  guard  the  now 
dethroned  Sultan,  Abdul  Hamid,  at  a  Selamlik,  in 
the  Spring  of  1900.  Japan's  Emperor  needs  no 
guard,  however,  to  protect  him  against  his  own 
subjects. 

When  we  reached  the  outer  gate  of  the  residence 
of  tKe  Minister  we  found  the  driveway  to  the  en- 
trance so  blocked  with  a  crowd  of  carriages  and 
jinrikishas  that  it  was  only  by  a  succession  of  jerks 
forward  and  sudden  stoppages  that  any  approach 
whatever  was  possible.  And  when  we  were  still 
several  rods  away,  something — we  were  unable  to 
ascertain  just  what — about  the  harness  appeared  to 
give  way,  leaving  us  glad  to  complete  the  journey, 


320         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

by  dodging  the  jinrikishas  and  ducking  under  the 
horses7  heads,  on  foot.  On  entering,  we  found 
that  the  accommodations  of  the  mansion,  in  order  to 
provide  for  the  more  than  fifteen  hundred  guests 
(of  whom  rather  more  than  one  hundred  were  for- 
eigners), had  been  greatly  enlarged  by  temporary 
structures  built  out  over  the  nearer  parts  of  the  sur- 
rounding garden1.  The  principal  rooms  added  in 
this  way  were  a  large  salon,  or  assembly  hall,  and 
a  refreshment  hall.  Both  these  rooms  were  beau- 
tifully decorated,  with  that  mixture  of  lavishness 
and  reserve  in  which  the  best  Japanese  art  of  dec- 
oration so  much  excels,  with  silks,  flags  of  the  na- 
tions, artificial  cherry  trees  in  full  bloom,  and  real 
pomegranate  and  persimmon  trees  loaded  with  fruit. 
All  these  were  still  further  decorated  and  illuminated 
by  concealed  electric  lights. 

It  was  a  curious  misnomer  to  speak  of  this  assem- 
bly as  a  "  Court  B'all."  Many  of  the  nobility  of 
high,  and  some  of  Imperial,  rank  were  indeed  there; 
and  the  official  world,  both  Japanese  and  foreign, 
was  very  fully  represented.  But  few  cared  to 
dance;  and  few  could  have  danced,  if  they  had  de- 
sired to  do  so.  Japanese  ladies,  in  general,  do  not 
enjoy  dancing;  although  in  olden  time  they  took  part 
in  out-door  sports,  such  as  polo:  but  they  cannot 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          321 

dance  in  foreign  style  when  dressed  in  the  native  cos- 
tume, which  is  appropriate  to  them  and  in  which 
many  of  them  appear  very  attractive  and  even  beau- 
tiful when  judged  by  Occidental  standards. 
Dressed  in  foreign  costume,  however,  very  few  of 
them  look  well;  almost  all  of  them  are  uncomfor- 
table, both  because  the  clothing  is  physically  irksome 
and  also  because  they  are  conscious  that  they  do  not 
look  well.  Besides  this,  the  ball-room  was  small  and 
from  the  first  insufferably  crowded  with  those  who, 
in  the  carefully  regulated  order  of  their  court  rank, 
were  somewhat  languidly  and  even  wearisomely  do- 
ing their  duty  solemnly,  in  honour  of  His  Majes- 
ty's birthday.  But  most  of  the  men  of  middle  age 
and  older,  the  men  of  mark  in  the  army  and  navy, 
in  the  state,  and  in  business  enterprises,  still  con- 
sider dancing  as  unmanly  and  unworthy  of  a  digni- 
fied gentleman. 

At  the  Court  Ball  there  were  none  of  those  forms 
of  entertainment  which  make  the  garden-parties 
and  other  less  stately  social  functions  of  the  Japan- 
ese so  enjoyable  to  the  foreign  guest.  In  spite  of 
this  fact,  however,  the  evening  was  far  from  being 
dull.  The  sight  of  the  brilliantly  lighted  and  beau- 
tifully decorated  rooms,  and  of  the  crowd  of  not- 
able persons  gathered  in  them,  afforded  in  itself  a 


322         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

rare  species  of  instructive  entertainment.  Besides 
this,  it  gave  the  opportunity  of  meeting  many 
friends  and  of  hearing  kindly  and  encouraging 
words  from  them.  Among  these  was  Baron 

M ,  the    Minister   of   Education,    Mr.   Z , 

who  spoke  definitely  about  the  plans  of  Marquis  Ito 
for  having  us  visit  him  in  Korea;  and  the  Japanese 
Minister  to  Siam,  with  whom  we  had  become  well 
acquainted,  seven  years  before,  while  on  the  same 
ship  from  Kobe,  Japan,  to  Singapore. 

The  most  interesting  interview  of  all,  however, 
came  latest  in  the  evening.  For  as  the  Japanese 
friend  who  had  consented  to  be  our  escort  on  this 
occasion  was  gathering  his  party  together  for  a  re- 
turn home,  and  we  were  in  his  company  passing 
through  the  refreshment  salon  to  the  cloak-rooms, 
a  party  of  Japanese  gentlemen,  seated  at  a 
table  by  themselves  near  the  place  of  exit,  called  to 
him  to  bring  us  to  them  that  we  might  be  intro- 
duced. These  gentlemen  proved  to  be,  Marquis 
Saionji,  then  Prime  Minister,  our  host,t  Viscount 
Hayashi,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Minister 
Kosai  Uchida,  then  of  the  Peking  Legation,  and 
Admiral  Shimamura.  The  latter  was  jestingly  in- 
troduced to  us  as  "  a  very  destructive  man,"  having 
sunk  no  fewer  than  thirteen  Russian  ships,  but  as 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          323 

being  now  "  a  man  of  peace."  Whereupon  the 
Admiral  gravely  said:  "Let  us  drink  to  peace,"  a 
toast  which  was  heartily  responded  to  by  all  pres- 
ent. I  take  this  occasion  to  say  again,  that  of  the 
greater  men  in  the  army  and  navy  of  Japan, — 
many  of  whom  I  have  met  in  a  friendly  way,  and 
with  some  of  whom  I  have  become  rather  inti- 
mately acquainted, — I  have  never  seen  one  who 
gave  the  slightest  sign  of  a  pugnacious  temper  or  of 
desire  for  war.  Of  this  brave  and  loyal,  but  emi- 
nently modest  and  peaceful  disposition,  Admiral 
Shimamura  is  a  conspicuous  example.  He  was 
staff-officer  on  board  the  flag-ship  Matsushima  in 
the  Japan-China  war,  and  was  wounded,  in  the  bat- 
tle of  the  Yellow  Sea.  He  was  Chief  Staff  of  the 
Standing  Squadron  at  the  time  of  the  Boxer  trou- 
bles in  1900.  He  was  singled  out  by  Admiral 
Togo  as  his  chief  staff  officer,  when  the  latter  was 
appointed  Commander  of  the  Fleet  at  the  outbreak 
of  the  war  with  Russia.  At  the  time  of  my  inter- 
view, he  was  President  of  the  Naval  Staff  College; 
and  soon  after  was  ordered  to  represent  his  country 
at  the  Hague  Peace  Conference  of  1907.  In 
Japan,  more  emphatically  than  with  us,  it  is  not  the 
men  who  would  have  to  do  the  fighting  who  are 
ready  to  engage  in  loose  "  war-talk  ";  with  us  much 


324        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

more  than  in  Japan,  it  is  an  unscrupulous,  and  in 
certain  instances,  a  subsidised  press,  and  a  body  of 
ignorant  and  selfish  "  promoters  "  of  trade  interests 
and  labour  unions,  together  with  the  politicians 
whom  they  control,  who  are  chiefly  responsible  for 
propagating  false  impressions  and  stirring  up  feel- 
ings of  strife  between  the  two  countries.  Should  so 
deplorable  an  event  ever  occur  under  existing  condi- 
tions, I,  for  one,  have  little  doubt  that  the  ultimate 
verdict  of  history  would  charge  us  with  being  the 
principal  criminal.  But  these  are  after  thoughts,  and 
quite  different  from  those  which  filled  our  mind  as 
we  went  to  sleep  at  the  end  of  nineteen  hours  of 
sight-seeing  and  of  social  converse  in  celebration  of 
His  Majesty's  birthday  on  November  3,  1906. 

The  most  stately,  formal,  and  except  for  a  care- 
fully selected  class,  unapproachable,  of  the  regular 
functions  of  the  Imperial  Court  of  Japan,  are  the 
New  Year's  Audiences.  On  the  morning  of  the 
first  of  January,  at  the  earliest  hour  of  all,  the  Im- 
perial Princes  or  princes  of  "  the  blood,"  go  to  the 
Palace  to  congratulate  and  felicitate  His  Majesty, 
and  to  signify  their  continued  and  undiminished  al- 
legiance. At  a  somewhat  later  hour  follow  the 
highest  ranks  of  the  Japanese  nobility;  then  in  due 
succession,  according  to  their  court  rank,  come  to 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          325 

the  Palace  the  Japanese  diplomats,  the  higher  offi- 
cials in  the  army,  the  navy,  and  the  state,  the  hold- 
ers of  decorations  of  the  Third  and  higher  Classes, 
and  certain  of  the  professors  in  the  Imperial  Uni- 
versity, and  of  the  Shinto  priests.  In  this  way,  four 
groups  take  their  turns  at  the  Imperial  Audience, 
during  the  successive  morning  hours  from  nine 
o'clock  onwards.  The  foreign  diplomats  are  re- 
ceived in  audience  in  the  early  afternoon. 

The  drive  to  the  Palace  showed  us  the  Capital 
City  as  it  appears  only  when  it  is  decked  out  in  char- 
acteristically Japanese  fashion,  on  this,  Japan's 
most  notable  gala  time  of  the  entire  year.  The 
weather  of  the  day  was  glorious,  bright  sunshine  and 
soft  dry  air.  There  appeared  not  to  be  a  hut  in 
Tokyo  too  small  or  too  poor  to  be  decorated  with 
at  least  two  tiny  pieces  of  pine  boughs  tied  together 
with  a  bit  of  new  straw  rope.  Even  the  draught 
horses  and  the  stakes  to  which  the  scows  were 
moored  in  the  canals  were  ornamented  with  pine, 
bamboo,  and  fern-leaves,  and  with  little  white 
Shinto  "prayer  papers"  fluttering  in  the  gentle 
breeze.  The  larger  houses  and  shops,  the  banks 
and  business  buildings,  had  set  into  the  ground  at 
each  side  of  their  doorways  and  gates  young  bam- 
boo trees,  of  from  four  to  eight  feet  high,  around 


326        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

which  young  pine  trees  were  tied  compactly  into  a 
form  resembling  a  huge  bouquet.  To  this  an 
added  significance  is  given  by  tying  into  the  queerly 
knotted  rope  at  its  centre  a  collection  of  fern  leaves, 
strands  of  straw,  stalks  of  rice,  streamers  of  Shinto 
paper,  dried  fish,  and  an  orange  or  a  foiled  lobster. 
Peace,  plenty,  long  life,  prosperity,  and  happiness, 
— everything  that  the  human  heart  can  desire  or 
hope  for — are  supposed  to  be  symbolised  in  this 
way.  Along  the  narrower  streets,  where  only  na- 
tive shops  of  the  smaller  sort  and  of  unfamiliar 
specialties  abound,  the  line  of  the  projecting  roofs, 
which  was  itself  not  more  than  six  or  eight  feet 
above  the  ground,  was  decorated  with  a  deep  fringe 
of  plaited  straw,  held  together  by  a  rope  that  car- 
ried little  flags  and  gay  lanterns.  Not  at  all  a  gor- 
geous or  expensive  style  of  decoration,  surely!  But 
universal  and  expressive  of  thoroughly  human  sen- 
timents, mingled,  indeed,  with  quaint  ancestral  be- 
liefs and  superstitions,  it  certainly  is. 

On  arrival  at  the  Palace,  we  were  shown  into  a 
dressing-rocfm  to  remove  our  overcoats  and  wraps, 
where  the  ladies  were  assisted  by  three  Japanese 
maids,  two  of  them  in  foreign  dresses  of  silk  with 
trains,  and  the  third  more  splendid  in  the  old-style 
Japanese  court  dress.  When,  about  fifteen  minutes 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          327 

later,  the  time  for  the  Audience  of  our  "  degree  "  had 
arrived,  a  Master  of  Ceremonies  came  and  ushered 
the  party  into  a  large  and  beautiful  salon,  where 
about  one  hundred  persons,  with  five  or  six  excep- 
tions all  Japanese,  were  waiting  for  the  coming  of 
their  turn  to  enter  the  throne-room.  All  were  in  court 
costume;  the  officers  of  the  army  and  navy  in  full- 
dress  uniforms,  wearing  their  decorations  and 
cocked  hats  trimmed  with  black  or  white  ostrich  tips ; 
and  the  University  professors  decked  out  in  coats 
of  antique  style  elaborately  embroidered  with  gold, 
cocked  hats  with  feathers,  and  gold  bands  down 
their  trousers.  It  was,  indeed,  a  sight  to  delight 
the  eyes  of  those  who  are  delighted  with  such  sights, 
and  one  that  any  person  interested  in  brilliant  colour 
schemes  and  the  human  impulse  to  parade,  might 
look  upon  for  once  with  a  measure  of  keen  enjoy- 
ment. 

In  good  truth,  there  was  an  abundance  of 
time  to  enjoy,  and  even  to  sate  one's  self  with  the 
brilliant  spectacle ;  for  it  was  fully  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  before  we  were  convoyed  to  the  throne-room. 
One  was  led  anew  to  admire  the  superior  physical 
endurance  of  the  ladies,  who  had  trains  weighing 
many  pounds  each  to  support  and  manage  all  the 
meanwhile.  It  was  a  relief  to  know,  however,  that 


328         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

the  sum-total  of  suffering  caused  in  this  way  couldl 
not  have  been  great,  for  there  were  not  more  than 
a  half-dozen  ladies  in  the  whole  company. 

The  former  custom  of  making  the  New  Year's 
Audiences  more  particular  and  personal  has  now, 
for  all  except  the  Princes  of  the  Blood,  the  higher 
Japanese  nobility,  and  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  been 
abandoned;  it  had  become  too  seriously  burden- 
some, especially  upon  the  Empress,  who  in  her  sin- 
cere and  self-sacrificing  devotion  to  her  manifold 
Imperial  duties  and  benevolent  enterprises,  is  con- 
stantly tempted  to  exceed  her  strength.  Instead, 
therefore,  of  Their  Majesties  undertaking  to  stand 
for  many  hours,  while  those  received  by  them  ad- 
vanced and  were  introduced  and  made  their  bows, 
the  ceremony  has  been  in  a  manner  reversed. 
When,  then,  we  entered  the  throne-room,  we  found 
that  it  had  been  divided  along  its  entire  length  into 
two  about  equal  parts  by  a  thick  cord  of  red  silk. 
Along  the  side  of  this  cord,  opposite  the  throne,  the 
entire  number,  which  had  now  increased  to  about 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five,  were  allowed  to  ar- 
range themselves  as  they  chose.  This  arrangement 
having  been  accomplished,  and  all  having  quieted 
down,  the  Imperial  party  entered  without  flourish 
of  any  kind  to  announce  them,  at  one  end  of  the  side 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          329 

opposite  to  their  guests;  and  when  they  had  reached 
its  centre,  right  in  front  of  the  throne,  they  stopped 
and  bowed  three  times  to  those  waiting  in  audience, 
all  of  whom,  of  course,  acknowledged  the  Imperial 
salutation  by  themselves  bowing  as  low  as  their 
somewhat  more  than  ordinarily  stiff  costumes  would 
permit.  The  Imperial  procession  then  passed  out 
of  the  throne-room  at  the  other  end  from  that  at 
which  it  had  entered.  This  was  all  there  was  of 
the  Audience  at  New  Years,  to  which  the  privilege 
of  an  invitation  is  so  much  coveted  and  which  it  is 
so  impossible  for  one  outside  the  circle  prescribed 
by  court  rules  to  obtain. 

Of  late  years  a  somewhat  comic  supplement  has 
been  added  to  the  ceremonial  drama  in  the  form  of 
a  function  which  bears  the  suggestive  but  not  eu- 
phonious title  of  "  Tails  and  Tea."  It  has  become 
the  custom  for  some  one  of  the  foreign  diplomatic 
corps,  usually  the  acting  Doyen,  to  invite  to  his  offi- 
cial residence  for  tea  that  same  afternoon  a  consid- 
erable number  of  those  who  have  not  attended  any 
of  the  audiences  of  the  earlier  part  of  the  day,  as 
well  as  all  those  who  have  been  in  attendance. 
This  function  not  only  gives  the  opportunity  for 
much  chat  such  as  is  customarily  inspired  by  tea- 
drinking  on  similar  occasions,  but  it  also  has  the 


330         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

added  advantage  that  it  affords  to  some  of  the 
ladies  the  gratification  of  displaying  their  trains  to 
a  larger  circle  of  admiring  or  critical  spectators,  and 
to  others  the  consolation  of  seeing  some  of  the  ele- 
ments of  the  pomp  of  the  morning,  whose  tout  en- 
semble has  been  denied  to  them. 

In  1899,  the  year  of  my  second  visit  to  Japan, 
audiences  with  the  Emperor  for  foreigners,  not 
connected  with  royal  families  or  members  of  the 
diplomatic  corps,  were  more  rarely  granted  than 
they  are  at  the  present  time.  Indeed,  our  Minis- 
ter at  that  date,  who  was  greatly  respected  and  be- 
loved by  the  Japanese,  told  me  that  he  had  ceased 
asking  them  for  his  own  nationals,  unless  some  in- 
dication of  favourable  disposition  toward  any  par- 
ticular request  were  first  received  from  the  other 
side.  It  was  then  toward  the  close  of  my  work  in 
behalf  of  the  educational  interests  of  the  nation, 
and  when  the  lectures  in  the  University  and  before 
the  Imperial  Educational  Association  had  come  to 
a  successful  end,  that  the  Department  of  the 
Household,  moved  by  the  representations  of  the 
Department  of  Education,  sent  to  our  Minister  the 
assurance  he  desired.  This  was  followed  by  the 
formal  request  for  the  Audience,  which  was 
promptly  granted.  The  date,  however,  could  not 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          331 

be  at  once  definitely  fixed;  for  His  Majesty  was  suf- 
fering from  a  slight  indisposition  whicR  had  led  his 
physicians  to  forbid  him  every  sort  of  exposure. 
This  indefiniteness  of  itself  made  indefinite  the  date 
when  we  could  leave  Tokyo  without  a  serious  breach 
of  politeness;  or  else  without  Imperial  permission 
granted  for  an  imperative  reason. 

We  were  summoned  back  from  Kamakura, 
where  we  ,were  spending  a  day  or  two  as  the  guests 
of  Baron  Kuki,  by  a  telegram  from  Colonel  Buck, 
which  informed  us  that  the  time  for  the  Audience 
had  been  set  for  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  at  ten 
o'clock.  On  our  way  from  the  Legation  to  the 
Palace  it  was  a  real  pleasure  to  hear  the  Minister 
say — what  my  subsequent  experiences  have  con- 
vinced me  is  strictly  true — that  the  friendly  services 
and  courtesies  of  educated  men  were  worth  more  for 
cementing  relations  of  friendship  between  the  two 
nations  than  a  great  amount  of  what  is  called  di- 
plomacy. As  to  this,  I  am  inclined  to  insist  once  more 
upon  the  judgment  that  financial  greed  and  com- 
mercial rivalry  have  been  of  late,  and  still  are,  the 
chief  causes  of  war  between  nations.  Witness  the 
powerful  influence  of  the  South-African  gold  and  dia- 
mond interests  in  bringing  about  the  Boer  war;  and 
of  the  infamous  procedure  of  BezobrazofFs  Yalu 


332         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

River  Timber  Company,  with  its  issue  in  the  Russo- 
Japanese  war.  A  vigorous  but  unscrupulous  "  trade 
policy  "  is  almost  certain  ultimately  to  lead  to  a  war 
policy. 

Arrived  at  the  Palace,  Minister  Buck  and  I  were 
taken  through  long  corridors  to  a  drawing-room 
adjoining  the  audience  chamber,  where  Counts 
Toda  and  Nagasaki  were,  with  other  gentlemen, 
already  in  waiting.  Here  we  were  kept  engaged  in 
conversation  for  perhaps  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  be- 
fore being  ushered  into  the  audience  chamber.  But 
before  its  doors  were  thrown  open,  Count  Toda  re- 
marked that  "  His  Majesty  was  very  gracious  this 
morning  and  wished  to  shake  hands  with  Professor 
Ladd." 

When  the  Minister  and  I  had  entered  tHe  room 
in  the  prescribed  form — he,  two  or  three  steps  in 
advance,  and  each  of  us  bowing  low  three  times  (at 
the  threshold,  about  half  way,  and  just  in  front  of 
His  Majesty) — the  Emperor,  who  was  standing 
near  the  other  end  of  the  chamber,  addressed 
through  his  interpreter  a  few  questions  to  Colonel 
Buck.  He  particularly  inquired  after  his  health, 
and  whether  the  buildings  or  trees  of  the  Legation 
had  been  injured  by  the  severe  storm  of  the  day  be- 
fore. I  was  next  introduced,  the  Emperor  cor- 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          333 

dially  extending  his  hand.  His  Majesty  then  in- 
quired about  my  coming  to  Japan,  the  time  of  my 
leaving;  expressed  his  pleasure  at  seeing  me,  and 
gratification  at  the  work  which  had  been  done;  and, 
finally,  the  hope  that  he  might  some  time  see  me 
again.  This  last  utterance  I  understood  as  a  per- 
mission to  withdraw.  And  this  was  promptly 
done,  by  backing  out  and  bowing  the  requisite  three 
times  in  the  reverse  order. 

It  was  more  than  seven  years  later  and  on  my  third 
visit  to  Japan1  that  the  honour  of  another  private 
audience  was  accorded  to  me  by  the  Emperor.  At 
this  time,  the  newly  arrived  First  and  Second  Sec- 
retaries of  our  Embassy,  with  their  wives,  and  Mrs. 
Ladd,  were  all  to  be  presented.  The  gentlemen 
would  have  audience  with  both  the  Emperor  and 
the  Empress ;  the  ladies  with  the  Empress  only. 
The  whole  party,  on  arriving  at  the  Palace,  was 
rapidly  conducted  along  the  corridors,  past  the 
waiting-room  where  my  own  deceased  friend,  Min- 
ister Buck,  and  I  had  rested  for  a  few  minutes  on 
the  former  occasion,  to  the  room  of  waiting  set  apart 
for  the  Empress'  guests.  There  three  of  the  gentle- 
men-in-waiting  and  three  of  the  maids  of  honour  met 
us;  and  introductions  followed.  After  twenty  minutes 
of  chatting  together,  the  men  of  the  party  were 


334         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

taken  in  front  and  to  one  side  of  the  door  of  the 
audience  chamber,  to  await  the  summons  of  His 
Majesty.  They  had  not  long  to  wait,  for  he  makes 
it  a  point  to  be  very  prompt  in  such  matters. 
Here,  to  my  no  small  surprise,  I  learned  that 
my  decoration  gave  me  precedence  of  the 
Secretaries  of  the  Embassy,  and  that  I  would 
therefore  be  presented  first.  Ambassador  Wright 
then  led  the  way  into  the  audience  chamber,  leaving 
the  others  standing  outside.  After  exchanging  in- 
quiries with  the  Ambassador  as  to  his  health,  on  my 
being  presented  the  Emperor  held  out  his  hand  and 
cordially  welcomed  me.  I  expressed  my  thanks  for 
the  honour  done  in  permitting  me  to  see  him  again, 
and  congratulated  His  Majesty  on  the  successful 
termination  of  the  war  and  on  the  apparently  pros- 
perous condition  of  his  country.  His  Majesty  then 
said  that  he  had  heard  with  pleasure  of  the  work 
which  I  was  doing  for  the  moral  education  of  his 
young  men;  that  it  would  prove  very  useful  for 
Japan;  and  that  he  wished  to  thank  me  for  it.  I 
expressed  the  great  pleasure  I  was  taking  in  the 
work,  and  my  sincere  gratitude  for  so  favourable 
an  opportunity.  Whereupon  he  expressed  the  hope 
that  I  would  continue  it.  I  replied  that  it  would 
be  an  honour  as  well  as  a  pleasure,  if  I  might  be 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          335 

permitted  to  continue  to  be  of  service,  however 
small,  to  Japan;  since,  next  to  my  own  country,  I 
had  learned  to  love  Japan  best  of  all.  When  this 
was  interpreted  to  the  Emperor,  his  face,  which  is 
ordinarily  very  immovable — almost  like  a  mask — 
showed  a  gleam  of  satisfaction  which  was  unmis- 
takable; and  he  again  thanked  me  and  took  my 
hand  for  the  second  time. 

After  the  two  Secretaries  had  been  presented,  to 
both  of  whom  these  conventional  sentences  were 
said:  "Have  you  been  before  in  Japan?";  and 
"  I  am  glad  to  see  you," — we  all  withdrew  back- 
ward, bowing  in  the  customary  fashion.  We  were 
then  taken  at  once  to  the  audience-room  of  the  Em- 
press, before  the  door  of  which  we  were  asked  to 
wait  a  moment.  Here,  too,  the  same  order  of 
precedence  was  observed.  On  taking  my  hand, 
Her  Majesty  said,  with  an  air  of  great  kindness, 
that  Minister  Makino  had  told  of  my  work  for 
the  moral  education  of  Japanese  young  men,  and 
that  it  would  be  of  great  value  to  the  country.  Her 
Majesty  also  asked  concerning  my  plans;  where  I 
was  going  and  how  long  I  was  expecting  to  stay. 
After  she  had  taken  my  hand  again  to  dismiss  me, 
the  other  two  gentlemen  were  presented,  and  the 
same  two  sentences  said  to  them  which  the  Em- 


336        RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

peror  had  said.  The  ladies  had  already  been  pre- 
sented; and  on  rejoining  them,  we  were  all  imme- 
diately ushered  out  of  the  Palace.  (I  have  always 
had  a  sly  suspicion  that  the  gentlemen  in  waiting,  at 
least,  consider — and  not  altogether  unnaturally! — 
this  sort  of  service  toward  foreigners  to  be  some- 
thing of  a  bore.) 

The  last  of  my  audiences  with  His  Imperial 
Majesty  of  Japan  was  by  far  the  most  notable,  and, 
indeed,  unique.  At  a  "  farewell  meeting,"  held  on 
Friday  evening  of  the  week  preceding  the  date  of 
my  sailing  home,  in  September  of  1907,  I  was  con- 
fidentially informed  to  expect  a  private  audience  on 
the  following  Monday.  The  more  formal  sum- 
mons, which  came  the  next  day  through  the  private 
secretary  of  the  Minister  of  Education,  was  couched 
in  the  following  quaint  language: 

"Dear  Sir: 

I  have  the  honour  to  inform  you  that  on  the  3Oth  at  half-past 
ten  o'clock  A.  M.  His  Majesty,  the  Emperor,  will  be  graciously 
pleased  to  receive  you  in  audience  at  the  Palace. 

"On  that  day  you  are  required  to  be  present  before  that  hour, 
wearing  swallow-tailed  coat." 

(It  should  be  explained  that  this  sobriquet  for  the  upper  gar- 
ment of  evening  dress  is  a  literal  translation  back  into  English  of 
a  Japanese  word  which  is  itself  derived  by  the  same  literal  ren- 
dering of  its  English  original.) 

The  anxiety  of  my  escort,  who  was  the  same  per- 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          337 

son  as  the  writer  of  the  letter,  lest  we  might  be  un- 
pardonably  late  in  keeping  the  appointment,  was  so 
great  that  our  carriage  arrived  at  the  designated 
gate  (a  comparatively  private  one)  of  the  Palace, 
a  full  half-hour  before  the  time.  But,  leaving  my 
Japanese  friend  at  the  entrance  room  of  the  De- 
partment of  the  Household,  I  was  conducted  along 
what  seemed  like  endless  corridors,  by  the  state 
rooms  of  the  palace,  whose  elegant  beauty  of  pro- 
portion and  reserve  in  decoration  I  thus  had  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  for  admiring,  to  a  waiting-room 
at  the  other  end  of  the  Palace,  which  I  at  once  rec- 
ognised as  the  one  customarily  assigned  to  those 
who  were  to  have  an  audience  with  the  Emperor. 
Soon  both  the  doors  of  this  room  were  closed  and 
the  occupant  was  left  to  his  reflections  in  the  com- 
pletest  possible  in-door  solitude.  The  silence  was 
impressive,  profound.  A't  rare  intervals,  the  dis- 
tant cawing  of  a  crow  somewhere  in  the  Imperial 
grounds,  or  muffled  footsteps  in  some  far-off  corri- 
dor, were  the  only  sounds  to  be  heard.  As  I  strove 
to  occupy  my  mind  with  recalling  the  memorable 
experiences  of  the  past  year,  in  Korea  as  well  as  in 
Japan,  my  imagination  persisted  in  dwelling  upon 
the  comical  problem:  "What  should  I  do;  how 
explain  my  presence,  with  my  scanty  knowledge  of 


338         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

Japanese,  to  persons  who  know  no  English;  how 
escape  from  the  Palace, — in  case  there  should  have 
been  any  misunderstanding  about  the  matter?  " 

Quite  promptly  at  10.25,  however,  the  door  of 
the  waiting-room  was  thrown  open  and  I  was  mo- 
tioned to  follow  the  Palace  attendant  who  stood  in 
front  of  it.  Not  a  word  was  spoken  by  either  of 
us.  On  reaching  the  corridor  in  front  of  the  audi- 
ence chamber,  two  gentlemen-in-waiting,  dressed  in 
frock  coats,  were  there, — one  in  front  of  the  en- 
trance and  one  in  the  comer  nearest  the  waiting- 
room.  The  latter  motioned  me  to  stand  by  his 
side.  In  a  minute  or  two  a  slight  rustle  announced 
the  entrance  of  the  Emperor  into  the  audience 
chamber;  the-  gentleman-in-waiting  who  stood  be- 
fore its  entrance  bowed  low  and  drew  back,  beck- 
oning me  to  come  forward;  and  I  then  first  became 
aware  that,  this  time,  no  one  was  expecting  to  pre- 
sent me.  Doubtless,  it  saved  the  chance  of  no  lit- 
tle embarrassment  that  previous  experiences  had 
left  me  precisely  informed  as  to  what  I  ought  to  do. 
The  Emperor  was  standing  in  his  accustomed  place, 
in  military  undress;  his  interpreter  was  on  his  right 
hand;  and  two  gentlemen  were  standing  in  the  far- 
thest corner  at  the  back  of  the  room. 

As  he  reached  out  his  hand,  His  Majesty  began 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          339 

to  express,  in  simple  but  sincere  fashion,  his  satisfac- 
tion at  the  instruction  and  advice  which  had  been 
given  to  his  people,  and  added  renewed  assurances 
of  his  gratitude  for  the  service.  In  few  words,  he  was 
assured  by  me  of  the  great  pleasure  which  had  been 
taken  in  the  work  of  the  year,  and  of  the  debt  of 
gratitude  which  was  felt  for  the  opportunity  to  be  of 
service  to  Japan.  His  Majesty  then  said  that  he 
had  heard  of  my  intention  soon  to  depart  for  home, 
wished  me  a  safe  and  prosperous  journey,  and  ex- 
pressed the  hope  that  my  family  and  friends  would 
be  found  in  health  and  prosperity  on  my  arrival. 
He  then  dismissed  me  by  extending  his  hand  again 
for  me  to  take. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  four  audiences  which  I  have 
had  the  honour  to  enjoy,  with  His  Majesty,  the 
Emperor  of  Japan,  with  some  detail  and  with  all 
the  frankness  within  the  limits  of  a  courteous  re- 
serve, because  they  seem  to  me  to  throw  light  upon 
his  personality  as  a  man  and  as  a  ruler  of  men. 
There  has  never  been  any  diplomatic  reason  or  po- 
litical motive  for  noticing  me  or  m'y  work  in  any 
distinctive  way.  I  am  only  a  teacher;  and  I  have 
had  no  ambition  for  any  higher  title  than  that  of 
"  teacher,"  no  desire  for  any  more  imposing  kind 
of  service.  But  His  Majesty's  painstaking  to  rec- 


340         RARE    DAYS    IN    JAPAN 

ognise,  and  to  signalise  with  his  favour  before  the 
nation,  his  appreciation  for  any  services  rendered  to 
the  "  moral  education  "  of  his  people,  has  been  as 
unmistakably  sincere  as  it  has  been  distinctive.  And 
there  is  abundant  reason  to  believe  that  this  pains- 
taking regard  for  the  moral  and  other  welfare  of 
his  people,  irrespective  of  considerations  of  diplo- 
matic policy,  or  rank,  or  expectation  of  similar  fa- 
vours in  return,  characterises  throughout  the  Impe- 
rial rule  of  the  present  Emperor  of  Japan.  One 
would  have  to  search  hard  among  the  world's  pres- 
ent day  rulers  to  find  another  so  affectionate,  so  so- 
licitous, so  self-sacrificing,  where  the  interests  of  his 
people  are  concerned,  as  Mutsu-hito,  His  Imperial 
Japanese  Majesty. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  present  Emperor 
succeeded  to  the  Throne  on  the  January  of  the 
year  before  the  one  (1868)  on  the  third  of  No- 
vember of  which  he  became  sixteen  years  of  age. 
A  civil  war  had  placed  him  upon  the  throne,  with 
something  like  the  real  Imperial  power  which  had 
been  withheld  from  his  ancestors  for  so  many  gen- 
erations. There  was  partisan  strife  and  confusion  of 
opinion  and  of  counsel  everywhere.  Since  his  day, 
the  nation  has  passed  through  one  civil  war,  and 
two  bloody  and  expensive  foreign  wars.  Mean- 


COURT    FUNCTIONS          341 

time,  too,  it  has  in  a  manner  to  astonish  the 
civilised  world,  come  forward  into  the  rank 
of  one  of  the  nations  destined  to  lead  the 
world's  civilisation.  Without  laying  any  stress 
upon  the  traditional  way  among  the  Japanese 
of  ascribing  all  manner  of  success  and  pros- 
perity to  the  virtues  of  the  Emperor,  it  is  simple 
matter  of  historical  fact  that  the  patience,  wisdom, 
and  benevolence  of  their  present  ruler  are,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  responsible  for  the  escaping 
of  much  evil  and  the  securing  of  much  good  on 
the  nation's  behalf.  Japan  has  been  guided  out  of 
the  old  era  into  the  new  by  a  very  remarkable 
body  of  men;  but  among  them  all,  there  is  probably 
not  one  who  will  not  tell  you  in  all  sincerity,  if  he 
can  be  induced  to  speak  freely  and  in  confidence 
upon  the  subject,  that,  all  things  considered,  His 
Imperial  Majesty  must  be  conceded  to  be  the  most 
patiemt,  wise,  and  benevolent  guide  and  supreme 
ruler  of  them  all. 


THE    END 


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